What does the Dover Beach poem mean?

“Dover Beach” is the most celebrated poem by Matthew Arnold, a writer and educator of the Victorian era. The poem expresses a crisis of faith, with the speaker acknowledging the diminished standing of Christianity, which the speaker sees as being unable to withstand the rising tide of scientific discovery.Click to see full answer. Also know, what is the main idea of the poem Dover Beach?Central Idea- In this poem Dover Beach Poem, Arnold expresses his grief and lament for the rapid and inevitable decline in religious faith in the mid-1800s. Arnold mourns a society that has lost its cultural, moral and spiritual significance, giving rise to cruelty, deception, uncertainty, and hopelessness.Subsequently, question is, what does the sea of faith symbolize in Dover Beach? Finally, to the speaker the sea represents faith. This is the most explicitly stated symbol in the poem, as the speaker refers to the “Sea of Faith.” He describes how it was once “at the full” and is now—like a retreating wave—”withdrawing” and leaving the world a darker, harsher, more confusing place. Similarly, it is asked, what is Matthew Arnold’s concern in his poem Dover Beach? The speaker in “Dover Beach” is lamenting the loss of religious faith during a time of progress in science and industry. The sea is calm tonight. Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand, Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.What is the tone of the poem Dover Beach?Matthew Arnold achieves a lonely tone in the poem “Dover Beach, ” through the use of imagery, simile, and personification. The poem begins with a simple statement: “the sea is calm tonight”. At this early moment this is as yet nothing but a statement, waiting for the rest of the work to give it meaning.