Julia Kristeva's 'Dover Beach'

Julia Kristeva’s quotation from Black Sun: Depression and Melancholia provides an interesting piece of observation in regards to the rampant depression apparent throughout literature. Kristeva points out that melancholy and depression can send writers into an “abyss of sorrow,” (Kristeva). However, she believes that so long as a writer avoids collapsing into the “noncomunicable grief,” (Kristeva), extraordinarily powerful pieces of literature can rise from ashes of depression. The melancholy experienced by a writer is often clear between the lines of their work, and the tone taken indicates a deep struggle occurring on the other side of the paper. Out of the readings we have discussed so far, “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold, “September 1,
Auden’s speaker is able to recognize the troubles and hardships in the world, yet the speaker still holds onto the hopeful belief that he or she has the capacity to improve it. The speaker knows that their voice is the only thing that he or she has to create change, but the speaker realizes that sometimes one voice is all it takes. One voice can gain support from others, “no one exists alone,” (Auden). These lines stand out from the rest of the poem as they bring forward a message of hope for the future. They are contrasted by the rest of the poem, which carries a theme of melancholy and depression. One interpretation is to see the speaker’s knowledge that it is often pointless to hold onto hope, as they note “The habit-forming pain, / Mismanagement and grief: / We must suffer them all again,” (Auden). It is as if the speaker of the poem realizes the endless cycle of grief and pain, and yet they cannot help but to believe that one-day circumstances will be subject to a revolution that dramatically changes the lives all. The speaker is not willing to jump in head first to make this change happen, but they clutch the cautious hope close
Even though much of it had to do with the melancholia they were racked with, according to Julia Kristeva that is still a great triumph. Literature is vital to understanding the emotions and feelings at the time. At the time these pieces were written, Europe was in the chaos of World Wars. The authors had all experienced both wars and the depression of the world oozed from their pages as they wrote. Yet with all the war and death happening around them, they still were able to find some optimism in them to place into their work. An optimism which I doubt even they believed was available. Even though the authors are struggling with depression, upon closer reading into their work there is evidence that they themselves still hold some hope, though these authors keep it well