dover beach

04; resulted in an age of sadness and unresolved inner conflict for individuals. The only thing humans can possibly be sure of is that they love one another. The structure and literary devices used by Arnold help reinforce the theme of Dover Beach. In the first stanza, a sequence of monosyllables along with simple verbs establishes the calmness of the setting (Collini 39). Arnolds work is irregularly rhymed and there is no pattern amongst the four stanzas in the number of lines they have. The poem is hard to analyze in formal terms, yet this does not make it a bad poem. The irregularity of the poem actually aids in the development of the emotions and ideas in the poem. Dover Beach is best described in literary terms as an open form poem. There is no consistent rhyme scheme or pattern in rhyme. However, simply by looking at the lines of the poem they appear to be like a sea flowing in and out. The variation of line length within the individual stanzas creates the illusion of water drifting in and out. Another poem that exhibits many of Matthew Arnolds distinctive traits is entitled The Buried Life. This piece is about a mans conflict to find his true self-identity. The poem begins with a sense of sadness and despair. The speaker and his beloved, though engaged in a war of mocking words, cant communicate openly. His inability to truly understand his beloved leads him to the thought: I feel a nameless sadness oer me roll. The speaker of the poem cares deeply about his significant other, but wonders why her light words bring no rest/ And thy gay smiles no anodyne. In stanza two he questions: Alas, is even Love too weak/ To unlock the heart and let it speak?/ Are even lovers powerless to reveal/ To one another what indeed they feel? This passage emphasizes the concern the s...