12th Grade Recommended Reading List: "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold

In this poem, the speaker mediates on the human condition as he experiences the sights and sounds of a beach in Dover, England. He tells his beloved that they must remain true to each other because the world is fully of misery and uncertainty.

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. strait
    a narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water
    The tide is full, the moon lies fair
    Upon the straits
  2. vast
    unusually great in size or amount or extent or scope
    ...on the French coast the light
    Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
    Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
  3. tranquil
    free from disturbance by heavy waves
    ...on the French coast the light
    Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
    Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
  4. bay
    an indentation of a shoreline smaller than a gulf
    ...on the French coast the light
    Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
    Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
  5. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    Only, from the long line of spray
    Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
    Listen!
  6. grate
    make a grinding sound by rubbing together
    ...you hear the grating roar
    Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
    At their return, up the high strand,
    Begin, and cease, and then again begin
  7. fling
    throw with force or recklessness
    ...you hear the grating roar
    Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
    At their return, up the high strand,
    Begin, and cease, and then again begin
  8. strand
    a shore periodically covered and uncovered by the tides
    ...you hear the grating roar
    Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
    At their return, up the high strand,
    Begin, and cease, and then again begin
  9. tremulous
    quivering as from weakness or fear
    With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
    The eternal note of sadness in.
  10. cadence
    a recurrent rhythmical series
    With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
    The eternal note of sadness in.
  11. eternal
    continuing forever or indefinitely
    With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
    The eternal note of sadness in.
  12. Sophocles
    one of the great tragedians of ancient Greece (496-406 BC)
    Sophocles long ago
    Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought
    Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
    Of human misery
  13. Aegean
    an arm of the Mediterranean between Greece and Turkey
    Sophocles long ago
    Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought
    Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
    Of human misery
  14. turbid
    clouded as with sediment
    Sophocles long ago
    Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought
    Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
    Of human misery
  15. ebb
    the outward flow of the tide
    Sophocles long ago
    Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought
    Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
    Of human misery
  16. girdle
    an encircling or ringlike structure
    The Sea of Faith
    Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
    Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
  17. furl
    form into a cylinder by rolling
    The Sea of Faith
    Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
    Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
  18. melancholy
    a feeling of thoughtful sadness
    But now I only hear
    Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
    Retreating, to the breath
    Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
    And naked shingles of the world.
  19. drear
    causing dejection
    But now I only hear
    Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
    Retreating, to the breath
    Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
    And naked shingles of the world.
  20. shingle
    coarse beach gravel of small waterworn stones and pebbles
    But now I only hear
    Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
    Retreating, to the breath
    Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
    And naked shingles of the world.
  21. certitude
    complete assurance or confidence
    Ah, love, let us be true
    To one another! for the world, which seems
    To lie before us like a land of dreams,
    So various, so beautiful, so new,
    Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
    Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
    And we are here as on a darkling plain
    Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
    Where ignorant armies clash by night.
  22. darkling
    uncannily or threateningly dark or obscure
    Ah, love, let us be true
    To one another! for the world, which seems
    To lie before us like a land of dreams,
    So various, so beautiful, so new,
    Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
    Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
    And we are here as on a darkling plain
    Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
    Where ignorant armies clash by night.
  23. plain
    an extensive tract of level, open land
    Ah, love, let us be true
    To one another! for the world, which seems
    To lie before us like a land of dreams,
    So various, so beautiful, so new,
    Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
    Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
    And we are here as on a darkling plain
    Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
    Where ignorant armies clash by night.
  24. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    Ah, love, let us be true
    To one another! for the world, which seems
    To lie before us like a land of dreams,
    So various, so beautiful, so new,
    Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
    Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
    And we are here as on a darkling plain
    Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
    Where ignorant armies clash by night.
Created on Fri Oct 20 13:38:50 EDT 2017 (updated Fri Oct 20 14:48:29 EDT 2017)

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