The poem begins with this line The sea is calm tonight But soon the sound of the waves makes the poet sad He feels that human life is full of pain He remembers the Greek writer Sophocles Long ago Sophocles also heard the sound of the sea and thought about human misery Sophocles also heard The turbid ebb and flowOf human misery This shows that pain and sorrow are not new But in Arnold s time suffering feels worse because people have lost religious faith Arnold compares religious faith to a sea In the past faith was strong and comforting But now the Sea of Faith is going away Faith is withdrawing and leaving the world bare and unsafe In such a world Arnold believes that love is the only support He asks his beloved to remain true to each other Love becomes the only hope in a faithless world Imagery and Symbols The poem is rich in imagery and symbols The sea is the most important image At first it looks calm and beautiful But later its sound becomes sad It means the world is full of sadness because of the crisis of faith The Sea of Faith is a powerful symbol It stands for religious belief Arnold writes The Sea of FaithWas once too at the full Arnold compares religious faith to a sea that once covered the whole world In the past faith was strong and comforting But now that sea is going away Faith is no longer strong The image of the darkling plain at the end is also very important It shows a world full of confusion fear and struggle People are like soldiers fighting at night without knowing why This symbol clearly shows the spiritual confusion of modern society Form Meter Rhyme Scheme Dover Beach is a free-form lyric It does not follow a regular rhyme scheme The lines vary in length It has stanzas of varying length This irregular form reflects the uncertainty and confusion of the modern world The rhythm of the poem rises and falls like the waves of the sea Language and Tone The language of the poem is simple clear and serious Arnold does not use difficult words His language is calm but deeply emotional The tone of the poem changes as it progresses At first the tone is peaceful and gentle Then it becomes sad and thoughtful In the end the tone turns serious and urgent When Arnold says Ah love let us be trueTo one another Then the tone becomes personal and emotional This direct appeal makes the poem very touching and sincere In conclusion Dover Beach is a great poem of the Victorian age Through beautiful imagery symbols and simple language Matthew Arnold shows the loss of faith and spiritual emptiness of modern life At the same time he offers love as the only comfort in a troubled world These make Dover Beach a timeless and powerful poem