Reference: These lines have been taken from the beautiful lyric From ‘Dover Beach’ of Matthew Arnold.
Context : In these lines the poet grieves over this purposeless life and dark and ignorant world. The people are running after material gains blindly. They do not think about the spiritual uplift.
Explanation : In these concluding lines the poet compares the man of today with a soldier. A soldier fights in the battle field without knowing why and for whom he is fighting. He knows only that it is his duty to and get victory. In the same way in this materialistic world man is running after material wealth and pleasure. He wants name and fame. He has lost the real aim of life and is no better than the soldiers who aimlessly in the battle field.
