Dover Beach

In our class, I was the second to last person who got to pick a poem for our oral presentations. Therefore, the list of poems was picked over and heavily tattooed with my classmates names next to their chosen poem. We had only the title of the poem to base our decision on. I saw Dover Beach at the top of the page with no name next to it, so I chose it because it sounded slightly familiar. I ended up loving the poem. It is beautifully written and full of wonderful imagery. I liked the poem so much that I actually enjoyed giving my oral presentation, which is unusual for me.

As the title would suggest, the poem is about the calmness of the sea, and the message it gives to the speaker. The "grating roar" (9) of the pebbles on the shore is repetitive, and it reminds the speaker of the poem of how life can also be repetitive. To put it simply, life is really just going through the motions every day. If all we do is the same routine every day, then what is the point of living? Is all faith lost? Is it possible to have hope in this repetitive lifestyle?

The speaker points out that he once saw the world as a  "Sea of Faith" (21) full of opportunity and hope. But his point of view on the world has changed, as is evident when he states "But now I only hear, Its melancholy long, withdrawing roar..." (25). It's almost as if something happened to the speaker that made him realize that the world is not as warm of a place as he once thought. Overall, this poem describes what it's like to question the meaning of life, and even though the tone is bleak, it's beautifully written and reads smoothly.