Below is the last stanza of a poem, "Dover Beach," written in 1876 by Matthew Arnold.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
Which of these statements best describes the remedy Arnold proposes for the world?
A. Our faith in each other can shelter us from deceptive chaos.
B. Look to your dreams for answers to life's questions.
C. In this deceptive world, ignorance requires faith.
D. The world may end, but love conquers all.
B?
I disagree. He stated his thesis in the first couple of lines.
I originally thought it could have been D. But that was wrong.
No, the correct answer is A. Our faith in each other can shelter us from deceptive chaos.
To arrive at this answer, you need to analyze the meaning of the stanza. The stanza begins with the plea, "Ah, love, let us be true to one another!" This indicates that the solution Arnold proposes lies in the relationship between individuals. The phrase "for the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams" suggests that the world may appear beautiful and promising, but in reality, it lacks essential qualities such as joy, love, light, certitude, peace, and help for pain.
The following line, "And we are here as on a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight," paints a grim picture of the world as a place of confusion and conflict. Finally, the last line, "Where ignorant armies clash by night," emphasizes the idea that individuals are engaged in blind battles and struggles due to their lack of understanding.
Therefore, taking all of these elements into account, the best description of the remedy proposed by Arnold is that our faith in each other can shelter us from the deceptive chaos of the world (option A).