Question

Why does Mathew Arnold mention Sophocles in this excerpt from “Dover Beach”?

With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.


It enhances the dramatic quality of the poem.

Sophocles drew inspiration from the sea.

It enhances the melancholic tone of the poem.

Sophocles inspires the poet to write.

Answer 1

The answer would be C) It enhances the melancholic tone of the poem.

Answer 2

The correct answer is C) it enhances the melancholic tone of the poem.

Mathew Arnold mentions Sophocles in this excerpt of "Dover Beach" because it enhances the melancholic tone of the poem.

English poet Mathew Arnold wrote the Lyric poem "Dover Beach" in 1867. The poems refer to the port of Dover, in England, where his honeymoon was held. When he wrote about Sophocles saying that: "Sophocles long ago Heard it on the Aegean, and it brought. Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow Of human misery," Arnold shares the sadness and melancholic moments he experimented.