The conflict between
religious and
scientific perspectives became more marked with the publishing of
Lyell's
Principles of Geology and
Darwin's
The Origin of Species. The decline in
faith caused by these, and other evolving attitudes and ideas, led
Matthew Arnold to comment:
The
Sea of FaithWas once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl'd.
But now I only hear
Its
melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
In
Dover Beach,
Arnold offers a replacement for the benefits of
faith: love between men. Despite this alternative, the poem reveals
Arnold?s desperation towards man, who is 'Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, / Where ignorant armies clash by night.' The
contrast between the original
optimism of the
poem and its conclusion highlights the conflict that the
poem represents.
In examining the
conflict of
science and
religion,
Arnold focuses upon the central divisive force in
Victorian England. To dismiss
religion altogether is symbolic of the progressive nature of the time. The
beauty and clarity of the work, conveyed through masterful
language and
imagery, show that times of
conflict generate
beauty and
meaning.