Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold Poems

Matthew Arnold was a poet, cultural critic, and school inspector, best remembered for his poem, Dover Beach‘. It, along with several others, solidified Arnold’s place in the history of 19th-century poetry. Read more about Matthew Arnold.

Dover Beach

by Matthew Arnold

‘Dover Beach’ by Matthew Arnold is dramatic monologue lamenting the loss of true Christian faith in England during the mid 1800s.

'Dover Beach' is widely regarded as one of Matthew Arnold's best poems due to its evocative language, powerful imagery, and timeless and deeply relevant themes to the 19th century. The poem's exploration of the decline of faith, the human condition, and the power of nature has made it a lasting masterpiece of English literature.

The sea is calm tonight.

The tide is full, the moon lies fair

Upon the straits; on the French coast the light

Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,

The Forsaken Merman

by Matthew Arnold

‘The Forsaken Merman’ by Matthew Arnold is a melancholy poem in which the speaker, a merman, grieves the loss of his human wife. He’s left alone with their children without the woman he loves.