Dover Beach Theme Imagery and Sound

In "Dover Beach," Matthew Arnold creates a monologue that shows how perceptions can be misleading. The theme of illusion versus reality in "Dover Beach" reflects the speaker's awareness of the incompatibility between what is perceived and what truly is real. Arnold conveys the theme of "Dover Beach" through three essential developments. First, he uses visual imagery. Second, he uses sound (aural) imagery. Third, he uses rhythm and metric. These mechanics alone do not explain why illusion and reality differ, but they do help to explain how Arnold sets up the poem to support the theme.
The…