Question

ah, love, let us be true
to one another! for the world, which seems
to lie before us like a land of dreams,
so various, so beautiful, so new,
hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
and we are here as on a darkling plain
swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
where ignorant armies clash by night.
— matthew arnold, \dover beach\
which word from this passage of matthew arnold’s \dover beach\ makes the mood of the poem sad and gloomy?
a. new
b. dreams
c. beautiful
d. darkling

Explanation:

• "New", "dreams", and "beautiful" carry positive, hopeful connotations that contrast with the poem's sad, gloomy mood.
• "Darkling" means growing dark or dim, which directly evokes a somber, bleak atmosphere that aligns with the poem's tone of despair and confusion.

Answer:

D. darkling