1a. How does the speaker describe the sea, the tide, the moon, the cliffs, the bay, and the night air in the first few lines of the poem?
2a. What thought did Sophocles have when listening to the sea?
3a. What does the speaker ask of his love in the last stanza?
4a. Compare and contrast the world as it seems to be and the way it really is according to the speaker.
5a. Judge whether the events in the daily news provide evidence for or against Arnold's idea that life is a "darkling plain."
1b. What mood is created by the description of the environment at the beginning of the poem? How does this mood change?
2b. What connection does the speaker make to Sophocles's thought?
3b. In the last stanza, why does the speaker make the request that he makes of his love?
4b. What do you think would make the speaker have a more positive view of the world?
5b. What metaphor or comparison might you use to describe the state of the world today?
Allusion. What allusion does the speaker make in the second stanza of his poem? What is the purpose of this allusion? What idea does the allusion introduce?
Symbol. Of what is the ebb and flow of the sea a symbol in this poem? What did Sophocles hear in this ebb and flow? What other symbolic significance does the sea have for the speaker? With what does the speaker associate the sea in the third stanza? What has happened to that sea?
1. Write a list of reasons to be happy or have a positive outlook. Brainstorm as many ideas as you can. Choose three ideas and write two or three sentences explaining why these things make you happy.
2. Write an editorial that expresses your opinion about the state of the world. Whether you choose a positive or negative outlook, support your response with examples and offer reasons for your perception of the state of the world.
3. Choose a sound that you hear often. Make a connection between this sound and a feeling or idea. For example, a dripping faucet might keep you up at night like a nagging worry. Write a personal essay in which you explore such a connection.
Writing Topic Sentences.Imagine each stanza of this poem is a paragraph. Write an appropriate topic sentence for each stanza.
Researching Dover. Using guidebooks, travel magazines, and the Internet, research Dover. Then write a brief description of the city and identify anything you would want to see or do if you visited Dover.
Research Findings on Dover:
Sources Used:
Evaluating Media. What kinds of stories dominate the news? For several days in a row, watch the news on television or read the news sections of the paper. How many stories are about negative events? positive events? How many "negative" stories have positive elements or slants, such as people reaching out to help flood victims? Do you think these news stories create an accurate portrait of what the world is like today?
