Week 8 "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold

From reading the introduction on Matthew Arnold, I was able to find out what period of time he was writing in. This poem was probably written during the industrial revolution when everything was changing and everyone had to change too. This poem I feel like sets the tone for how he feels about this new change. In the beginning of the first stanza he refers to the sea as peaceful and I feel like he is talking about how life was before the industrial revolution. He refers to the sea as "calm to night". He then talks differently about the sea and talks about how rough it can be. Pebbles hitting the beach and bringing sadness in. I have a feeling that not everyone was ready for this change and it just hit them quick and it changed their view on life. It was sad to read that through this time they lost faith. He referred to "the Sea of Faith" that used to be full was now "melancholy" and "retreating". Through this change they lost their faith in the and their faith in God. Through their lost faith though they did learn that they have to rely on each other to make it in the world. They can't trust their land anymore and must depend on only a few others. It was interesting to get an opinion on this time period. The industrial revolution may have brought change but it also brought about new technology to advance a persons life.