RSS In the poem "Dover Beach" ,"Naked shingles" means beaches covered with pebbles?

Question

What does the retreating "Sea of Faith" show when it retreats? 

What does "naked shingles" mean in this sense?

What is the speaker's solution or way of coping with this sense of sadness and loss of faith? 

Do you think such consolation ever will be enough for him, or do you think that the relentless, "eternal note of sadness" will overcome this consolation?  Why?

Answer 1

Hello again.  RSS?

The poet does not say anything about seeing, after he does `only hear/ its melancholy long withdrawing roar...'  However he says the sea (of Faith) is `retreating.../ down the vast edges drear/ And naked shingles of the world.'  It's possible the naked shingles of the world are metaphorically the white cliffs of Dover themselves, but he is talking of the metaphorical Sea of Faith, so whatever beach they withdraw from is going to be totally metaphorical too.  I don't know where you are getting these questions...

Maybe it helps if you know that shingle has two meanings.  The roof-tiles come from a Latin word referring to split rocks, a form of a verb meaning to split (scindo, I split).  The other meaning, which is totally English and unrelated, refers to the pebbles on a beach which has pebbles rather than sand.  Nowadays we just say pebbles.  Byron used the word in this sense too; he wrote: `She dreamed of being alone on the sea-shore,/ Chained to a rock; she knew not how, but stir/ She could not from the spot.../// Anon she was released, and then she strayed/ O'er the sharp shingles with her bleeding feet.'  This is in Don Juan, and it's a bad dream one of Juan's Greek amours had.

What is the speaker's solution?  That was my question five!  I totally preempted your question!

Do I think such consolation will ever be enough for him?  Oh my goodness, that was my question six!  I preempted this one too!  Thank you, I feel so smart!  

Sorry for being silly... does this help though?