A Comparison of Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold and Prayer Before Brith by Louis MacNeice 'Dover Beach' by Matthew Arnold, written in 1867, and 'Prayer Before Birth' written in 1951 by Louis MacNeice share many similarities despite being written nearly on hundred years apart from each other. This essay will explore the issues and ideas that both poems share, in addition to drawing attention to some of the key differences. 'Dover Beach' is about the thoughts of a man on his honeymoon, who shares his sentiments about the suffering of the world and that fact that his 'love' is the only thing which is positive about his life. 'Prayer Before Birth' describes the thoughts of an unborn child, making a …show more content…
Matthew Arnold feels that mankind has always been aware of the essential 'human misery' that exists in the world, and refers to Sophocles to reinforce his point. It is appropriate for Arnold to have used Sophocles in the second stanza, as Sophocles has always written about human misery (his most famous tragic pieces being Oedipus Rex and Antigone); therefore this proves Arnolds point that human misery has been studied before. The persona in Matthew Arnold's poem seems to spring in part form the loss of spirituality in the world. He uses the metaphor 'The Sea of Faith' to describe the 'withdrawal' of people's belief in religion. Whereas it was once a 'bright girdle' is now in retreat and all that is heard is the 'melancholy, long, withdrawing roar' Although Louis MacNeice, makes a brief reference to religion, 'a white light/ in the back of my mind to guide me', generally there doesn't seem to be much help for the dishonesty and corruption in the world. 'I fear that the human race may with tall walls wall me,/ With strong drugs dope me, with wise lies lure me,/ On black racks rack me, in blood baths roll me.' He fears being imprisoned, tortured, and manipulated. He wants to be forgiven for the sins that he knows he will commit, due to he fact that the world
Award-winning journalist, Lee Strobel wrote The Case for Christ to retrace and enlarge his journey toward becoming a Christian. Strobel once atheist, and now Christian, shares how he began to look upon the Bible and God. As an atheist, Strobel lived the life of selfishness and only worried to please himself. When his wife began to go to church he wasn’t very pleased until after he saw the positive and attractive change in her. This is the start of his curiosity and investigation about Christianity. He wanted to understand what changed her like this. He wanted to relate with his wife so he decided to study about this and attend church services with her. Strobel began his journey and interviewed thirteen leading scholars who defended their views concerning the historical reliability of the New Testament. Strobel splits the case for Christ into three basic sections: Examining the Record, Analyzing Jesus, and Researching the Resurrection.
Thomas R. Schreiner is the professor of New Testament Interpretation and the Associate Dean of Scripture and Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to this he served for 11 years at
I had the privilege of interviewing Brian Bagwell for this project. He is, in my opinion, one of most humble, wisest man we have at Church of the Highlands. Once you get through a joke or two, the fruits of the spirit radiate from his personality. A man that I have the privilege to call my mentor and teacher. He is currently serving on staff at the Church of the Highlands as a Dream Team Coordinator. His shares the vision of the church which is passed down from our senior pastor, Chris Hodges. Evangelism is the definition of the church so to speak, Church of the Highlands stands behind the final authority of God’s word which is the bible. It is often said among the staff “we do not argue the essentials, but we can disagree the non essentials.” The church believes and acts in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, and helping people move through four steps our God has outlined in the Great Commission. Our Church exists to see people saved, delivered, redeemed, and fulfilled. This is accomplished with four systems that allow the people to move through the four steps. The first is weekend services to allow them to know God (saved), small groups to find freedom (delivered), growth track to discover purpose (redeemed), and dream team to be fulfilled and make a difference (fulfilled). This vision is how the church evangelizes (Bagwell). This vision is clear to all members of the church who call Church of the Highlands home, and even clear to people
I will be examining an image taken from the Book, Acts and Monuments, or better known as the Book of Martyrs. This book was written by John Foxe in 1563. Foxe was a devout protestant during a time where Catholicism was being revived By Queen Mary. This Image displays Thomas Cranmer. Cranmer was the Archbishop of Canterbury during King Henry’s regime and helped Henry annul his marriage with Catherine. Cranmer supported Royal Supremacy and was a huge reason for the creation of the Protestant Church during the Reformation. In his book, The Book of Martyrs, author John Foxe expresses his emotions for the protestant martyr Thomas Cranmer as he is being burned alive. Foxe was an English historian and author who used his skills to express his anger towards the suffering of Protestants under the Catholic Church. Foxe recorded the last moments of fellow Protestants who were executed under the rule of Mary. Cranmer was one of many martyrs that Foxe illustrated in his book. Foxe started working on his book in 1552 when Edward had power. After the death of Mary he met a publisher by the name of John Day where he started to publish Foxe’s work. His work didn’t make him rich, but he did become a celebrity for his literally skills. This book was attacked by Catholics and had many critics as well, which led Foxe to come out with several more editions of this version.
B. Explanation of the allusion: Dover Beach was a poem by Matthew Arnold which was published in 1867. He wrote the poem while honeymooning with his wife at Dover Beach. Although it contained only 37 lines, it described the beauty of nature on a beach in Dover England as well as the worldly issues of the decline of religious faith. With metaphors and alliteration, Arnold effectively expressed his views and opinions making this most famous work ("Dover").
Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem a religious and political center from the ancient Near East time to present day, guiding the footsteps of believers around the world.
Award-winning journalist, Lee Strobel wrote The Case for Christ to retrace and expand his journey toward becoming a Christian. Strobel once declared atheist, and now Christian, shares how he began to look upon the Bible and God. As an atheist, Strobel lived the life of selfishness and only worried to please himself. When his wife began to go to church he wasn’t very pleased until after he saw the positive and attractive change in her. This is the start of his curiosity and investigation about Christianity. To relate with his wife he decided to study about this and attend church services with her. Strobel interviewed thirteen leading scholars who defended their views concerning the historical reliability of the New Testament.
The social gospel was the biggest inspiration and influence for Civil Rights leader, John Lewis. Which is prevalent throughout the first two books, of the March trilogy, written by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis himself. The Bible made its mark on Lewis when he was young farm boy. Leading him to the social gospel which started him down the path of nonviolence, and longing not just for personal reform but for social reform. As the Civil Rights movements became bigger, and as the philosophy of which John Lewis taught spread, others were inspired by the social gospel.
The text Jaws is an American Thriller film released in 1975. It is a suspenseful, tense script that focuses on the use of iconography, narrative conventions and character conventions to build a masterpiece of thriller text. Through the use of these elements, Jaws becomes an effective example of the codes and conventions of the thriller genre.
One of the many things that puzzle people even today; is how Jesus was portrayed and how he became a part of history throughout the centuries. Fortunately, within the book Jesus Through the Centuries, written by Jaroslav Pelikan, readers are able to get a sense of what societies viewed Jesus as and how he was/is important to many aspects of the world such as; the political, social, and cultural impact he had left. As Pelikan discusses this very topic and theme in his book, we see how there’s a connection between his audience in this book and Jesus’s are closely similar. When he got his motivation to write about Jesus through the Centuries, Jaroslav had an open audience, which was intended for anyone of all ages, races, and beliefs to read
The voice of vocation is mostly discerned through the heart; therefore, one must consciously be aware of the matters that occupy the heart. In John Neafsey’s “A Sacred Voice Is Calling,” Neafsey asserts “The voice of vocation is the voice of God” (Neafsey, 6). By hearing the voice of God, we’re able to reach the destiny God predestined us for in life and especially in our vocations. In order to hear the voice of God, you have to be able to discern between the many voices you hear every day, the voice of your conscience, and God’s voice. You do so by: consistently managing the matters of the heart- monitoring what you allow to physically and mentally enter into your heart, learning to discern between those things by familiarizing yourself with
Dover Beach intrigued me as soon as I read the title. I have a great love of beaches, so I feel a connection with the speaker as he or she stands on the cliffs of Dover, looking out at the sea and reflecting on life. Arnold successfully captures the mystical beauty of the ocean as it echoes human existence and the struggles of life. The moods of the speaker throughout the poem change dramatically as do the moods of the sea. The irregular, unordered rhyme is representative of these inharmonious moods and struggles. In this case, the speaker seems to be struggling with the relationship with his or her partner.
Matthew Arnold is one of the many famous and prolific writers from the nineteenth century. Two of his best known works are entitled Dover Beach and The Buried Life. Although the exact date of composition is unknown, clearly they were both written in the early 1850s. The two poems have in common various characteristics, such as the theme and style. The feelings of the speakers of the poem also resemble each other significantly. The poems are concerned with the thoughts and feelings of humans living in an uncertain world. Even though Arnold wrote Dover Beach and The Buried Life around the same time, the
There is no doubt that the media has a huge role in American culture. The media is prevalent on every medium, from newspapers, to television, the Internet, and mobile applications. However, the controversial argument of whether American culture is more influenced or more informed by the media still stands. “American culture” is what I consider to be the social norms, fashion, topics of discussion, current events, and mindsets that are popular within the general American population. The “media” to me refers to all forms of news and popular culture from sources such as television news sources, online news websites, online blogs, and social media networks - basically any public medium with a large audience (in this case, the American
There are some travelers who see a “paradise” as their final destination; however, it may end up to be exactly opposite of what a paradise should be. This can be seen in Alex Garland’s The Beach. The novel is about several backpackers, Richard, Francoise, and Etienne, who come together and travel to an island community, their paradise, within Thailand. Ultimately, the story portrays the idea of a utopia-like society taking a turn for the worst and becoming a dystopia, something that the backpackers would not have expected. Throughout the story, the theme of a utopia turning into a dystopia could be seen through symbolism such as the “cancer” of traveling and the destruction that it brings.