Read the excerpt.
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?
The British Empire was at its lowest military point since the American Revolution.
People in Victorian times no longer felt that religious faith was a certain comfort.
Victorian England was undergoing extreme religious persecution.
The people of Victorian times felt that their world was shrinking in size.
