Dover Beach- Matthew Arnold

In the poem Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold, we see that the poem is divided into three stanzas. Each stanza is addressing a different beach. Two of those beaches are literal, they represent an actual body of water. The third is metaphorical, representing someones faith. In the first stanza, we learn about the English Channel which makes the speaker believe that it brings "the eternal note of sadness in". The speaker then thinks of Sophocles who is also sad. The only difference is that Sophocles is looking at the Aegean Sea. As the speaker progresses, we realize that he is sad and has lost his faith. This leads us to the 3rd stanza. As his faith decreases, his sadness increases. In the end he says that love is the only thing that could solve his problems. He can only rely on it to make his sadness go away and for his faith to increase.