The declining and fragile state of the world is the central focus of
             "Dover Beach." The poem, written by Matthew Arnold, is from the Victorian
             era. The poet focuses on the theme of man's declining condition during
             this era by emphasizing the weakening state of religion and, as a result,
             places hope in our love for one another.
             The structure of the poem is central to its meaning. Man's declining
             state is expressed through what appears to be with reality. Critic John
             Fain states that the theme of the poem is the "terrible incompatibility
             between illusion and reality" (Fain 41) and the poet's "visual imagery to
             express illusion and auditory imagery to express reality" (41) supports
             this theme. Fain observes that the poem begins with a mood of peace and
             serenity. However, this illusion is broken by "the grating roar/Of
             pebbles" (Arnold 9-10). Fain asserts that in this passage, "sound is more
             real than sight" (Fain 41). The contrast that the poet is expressing deals
             with the changes he sees in the world around him. The calm sea, the full
             tide, and the moon he witnesses in the tranquil bay lasts but only a few
             seconds before his mind is called away from the peaceful scene by the roar
             of the waves. The waves bring with them an "eternal note of sadness"
             (Arnold 14). This sadness is nothing new, the poet realizes as he recalls
             that Sophocles heard the very sound long ago. In short, the poet is
             reminding us that we cannot always trust what our eyes see. Fain states,
             "Sights fade, but sounds, being sequences, keep on going" (Fain 41). This
             statement seems to be stating that unless mankind awakens to his condition,
             This image is reinforced in the second stanza when Fain asserts that the
             poet is creating a vision of the moon shining on the surf "like the folds
             of a bright girdle furl'd" (Arnold 23) only to "give the sound of
             withdrawal of the bright girdle from around the sho...