Dover Beach, a poem by Matthew Arnold

One of the best-loved poems of the Victorian Age

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”.