Matthew Arnold’s (1822-88) major contribution
to English literature was as a prose writer, but in his early years he wrote a
considerable quantity of poetry, most of it not being particularly good.
However, with “Dover Beach” he produced one of the greatest poems of the
19th century, and it deserves its place in popular acclaim.
The setting of Dover
Beach
The poet and his female companion are staying
overnight at Dover, probably ready to embark for France the
following day. The companion is almost certainly his wife, Frances Lucy (known
as Flu), and it is possible that they are setting off on their honeymoon. They
were married on 10th June 1851, and the poem was possibly
composed at around that time. There is however some debate as to whether the
whole poem was written at the same time, and it is possible that the final
stanza, which does not mention the sea, could have preceded the rest of the
poem.
It is also interesting to speculate whether
they were staying at the Royal Ship Hotel, which overlooked Dover harbour at
the foot of the cliffs, and at which Charles Dickens is known to have stayed in
1856, using the setting for a scene in “A Tale of Two Cities”.
