Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. Perhaps because he was so lighthearted and gay, he might have used his writings to discuss the problems in society which bothered him...because despite his carefree attitude, he … All things considered, it is one ofthe most beautiful poems in the language-simple and suggestive weighed with a heavy sweetness, yet restrained in expression as well as sentiment. Among the major Victorian writers, Matthew Arnold is unique in that his reputation rests equally upon his poetry and his poetry criticism. It has that note of sadness and dissatisfaction that is so common in Arnold's writings. In the second stanza, the roar of the ebbing sea strikes a note of sadness in his mind. In the first stanza, the poet sees the calm sea in full tide at the Dover beach. In the third stanza, he says that Sophocles was reminded of human misery as he heard the roar of the sea-waves at the Greek coast. Only a quarter of his productive life was given to writing poetry, but many of the same values, attitudes, and feelings that are expressed in his poems achieve a fuller or more balanced formulation in his prose. Answer:The poem has sad music about it sad like the slow, mournful beat ofthe waves described in it.