8. 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.
And your answer is?
To determine the remedy Arnold proposes for the world in the last stanza of the poem "Dover Beach," we need to analyze the stanza and the options provided.
In the stanza, Arnold expresses a grim view of the world, describing it as lacking joy, love, light, certainty, peace, and help for pain. He then compares the situation to a "darkling plain" where ignorant armies clash by night. This imagery suggests a world in chaos and confusion.
To identify the proposed remedy, let's analyze the options provided:
A. Our faith in each other can shelter us from deceptive chaos.
This option suggests that having faith in each other can protect us from the chaotic and deceptive nature of the world. However, this is not explicitly stated in the poem.
B. Look to your dreams for answers to life's questions.
This option implies that finding answers to life's questions in one's dreams is the proposed remedy. However, the poem does not mention relying on dreams as a solution.
C. In this deceptive world, ignorance requires faith.
This option suggests that in the deceptive world described, ignorance necessitates having faith. Although faith is mentioned in the poem, it is not specifically linked to ignorance.
D. The world may end, but love conquers all.
This option proposes that love is the remedy that can overcome even the end of the world. While the poem does not explicitly state that love conquers all, it does focus on the importance of love and being true to one another.
Considering the options provided, option D aligns most closely with the sentiment expressed in the poem. The stanza emphasizes the need for love and truthfulness in a world that lacks joy, light, and certainty. Therefore, the best description of the remedy Arnold proposes for the world is that love conquers all, as suggested in option D.