Ordinary People

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with tragic human experience. The poem begins two-part stanzas, the first which is promising and hopeful; the second replaces optimism with a reality which is grim. Arnold uses contrast when he appeals to the sense of sight in the first section and to hearing in the second. Arnold starts with the descriptions of the "calm sea", "fair tide" and the "vast" cliffs which create a calming, innocent appearance. This sets the mood of peace and contentment which the speaker feels when he gazes out upon the sea. "Come to the window, sweet is the night-air", gives the reader the impression of a cool, summer night. The mood begins to be soothing and calming to the reader. Arnold then however, begins to change the tone. Arnold describes, "The grating roar of pebbles, Of the pebbles which the waves draw back", with "a tremulous cadence". This portrays the image of an imaginary battle on the land of Dover. Arnold writes of the horrible sound of the pebbles beating away at the land. The pebbles ...

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