From “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold The Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore Lay like the folds of
a bright girdle furled. But not I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating, to the breath Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear And naked shingles of the world. How does the doubt expressed in these lines from “Dover Beach” reflect the historical period in which the poem was written?
Victorian England was undergoing extreme religious persecution.
People in Victorian times no longer felt that religious faith was a certain comfort.
The British Empire was at its lowest military point since the American Revolution.
The people of Victorian times felt that their world was shrinking in size.
