30+ Dover Beach Poem Background. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of april 8th, 2007. It was first published in 1867 in the collection new poems, but surviving notes indicate its composition may have begun as early as 1849.
Arnold wrote 'dover beach' around 1850, at a time when faith in god and religion seemed threatened by developments in scientific understanding and evolutionary theory.
Dover beach does not contain the normal rhyme scheme, as only stanzas two and four have a the lines in the poem have a sad drearily meaning to it, which describes them like beauty, religion. Dover beach is a 'honeymoon' poem. And in the poem he shows his doubts about religion. Arnold wrote 'dover beach' around 1850, at a time when faith in god and religion seemed threatened by developments in scientific understanding and evolutionary theory.