Abstract:
Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” and Robert Browning’s “Love among the Ruins” have been
analyzed comparatively with other poems. However, there has not been a comparative study of these
two poems written by two Victorian poets, and such a study is valuable as these poems have common
qualities. To cite a few, in both poems, nature is a prevalent theme portrayed through ambivalent
images, and the world is criticized for different reasons. These reasons are loss of faith in “Dover
Beach” and foul human nature in “Love among the Ruins,” and war in both of them. In relation to the
theme of criticism against the world, change is a concept portrayed through contemplation of the past. In
“Dover Beach,” this change is expressed through the depiction of loss of faith, and in “Love among the
Ruins,” the change is physical within the context of a fallen empire. Love is appreciated in both poems
for different reasons. In “Dover Beach,” it is the only saviour, and in “Love among the Ruins,” it is
considered as a peaceful and eternal force. This paper attempts to make a further study to compare
“Dover Beach” and “Love among the Ruins” which share remarkable thematic similarities as well as
differences in terms of their imagery of nature, criticism against the world, and appreciation of love.
