I had to read Matthew Arnold's poem twice in order to really get anything out of it. The poem took an unexpected turn into dreariness around line 24. So, the second time I read it, I was overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia. It was as if he was remembering the good times while surrounded by the dark times. He refers to the Sea of Faith, which is a good metaphor in my opinion because faith, like the ocean, is based on blindness. The ocean is deep and full of things we cannot see. It is full of possible situations and so is faith. We have faith in things in hopes that they'll change. We never know what will actually happen, until something does happen.
I really like Arnold's use of decsriptions in this poem. Even with the dark turn that the poem took, I still felt whisked away by his detail. He made the darkness beautiful. I also like that he brought Sophocles into the poem as well, because I do love me a bit of Greek tragedy. I am a drama student, after all.
It looks like you and Marisela essentially had the same reading of the poem! I, on the other hand, read this poem as a PSA on being environmentally friendly. I have to admit, I like your reading of it better, and I wonder why I didn't think of that. Your reading makes more sense to me than my own, and I'm glad to know people can have different readings of a work - or even similar ones. It's nice to see differing perspectives on anything - whether it's a poem, movie, or novel.
ReplyDeleteI really like your assertion that "faith, like the ocean, is based on blindness". I said something similar in my post, but I think that the way it was phrased her was excellent. It really speaks to the overall meaning of the poem that faith requires a bilnd beleif, and when that beleif is gone it can seem very hollow and lonely, much like an ocean.
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