DOVER BEACH:
STUDY QUESTIONS

Throughout the poem, Matthew Arnold makes constant reference to the sound of the sea. Do you think it really bothered him? Explain whether giving him  a “white noise” machine—which emits a sound similar to the oceans waves—would have helped soothe Arnold or made him feel he was being made fun of.

Do you think Arnold found Dover Beach such a depressing place because is the closest point in England to France?

What does Arnold mean when he says that the sea “lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled?” Make the case for whether Arnold should have tried to stay on subject while writing this poem and not have let his imagination drift to ladies’ undergarments, or whether the poem is just fine, and even more exciting, this way.  

 In the first line, Arnold proclaims, “The sea is calm tonight.” How would this poem have been different if the sea were angry? Or zesty? Or playful? Or gassy?

 If you were going to the beach, and it were 1867, would you invite Matthew Arnold to come along? Explain whether any hesitance is due to his buzzkill attitude or his eerie stalker looks.