I actually read the biographical context for this poem previous to reading the poem itself. In reading that bit, the word “melancholy” stood out to me. I could not figure as to why Arnold would write a poem with a melancholy tone under the circumstances which he found himself in during the time period when the poem was allegedly written. Arnold had recently married a woman who he seems to have loved dearly, and who he had been prevented from marrying up until this point. Under such circumstances it stands to reason that the tone of the poem would be anything but melancholy.

The notes on the biographical context of this poem suggest that a draft of the poem was possibly written on a previous trip to Dover, three months previous to the honeymoon. I kept this in mind as I was reading the poem. Regardless of whether or not the poem was drafted previous to the honeymoon I do not know. However, it is readily apparent that the last stanza marks an important shift within the poem.

The first three stanza give the impression of solitude, and the references to the past (Sophocles line 15) and to large physical feature, specifically large bodies of water (“the sea”, “the straits”, “the bays”… “the Aegean” etc.) both further the impression of isolation and give the sense of being very small and insignificant. References to things like “human misery” and “melancholy” sounds definitely contribute to the melancholy tone the biographical information mentioned.

However, in the final stanza the speaker begins to mention his love while not forsaking the melancholy that has dominated the poems direction thus far. In my opinion, this serves only to enhance the impression the strength of the relationship between Arnold and his beloved. The main point of this poem seems to be, in a very simplified way, “we are very small in a big messed up world, so let’s be the good in the world for each other.”