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Dover Beach Resources

Websites

Overview of Arnold's Life and Work

If you want to know more about Arnold's life and his other poems, this essay is a great place to start.

Victorian Web

Check out this super handy site, jam-packed with good information on Arnold, who was one of the major writers of the Victorian age.

Video

Creepy Animated Matthew Arnold

Some computer genius has made a bunch of these videos, turning a still photo into a kind of talking picture. We sort of can't get enough of them, even though they totally weird us out, too.

Sophocles' Oedipus Rex

A full video of one of Sophocles' great plays. Epic masks, right?

Audio

"Dover Beach" as Opera

Apparently the composer Samuel Barber set the poem to music. The effect is a little strange, but it makes a fun change.

A Reading of "Dover Beach"

It's always a good idea to listen to a poem read out loud. We always feel like we understand a poem better when it's well read, as it is here.

Images

Photograph of Matthew Arnold

One word: MUTTONCHOPS.

Portrait of Arnold

This painting of Arnold is by the painter George Frederick Watts. We think it captures his bummer essence.