Question

What does the “Sea of Faith” symbolize in the poem?

• A. The vastness of nature
• B. The power of the ocean
• C. The strength and universality of religious belief in the past
• D. The inevitability of human misery

Answer 1

Answer:

C. The strength and universality of religious belief in the past

The “Sea of Faith” is a metaphor representing a time when religious belief enveloped the world like a protective girdle. Arnold mourns its withdrawal, which symbolizes the decline of faith in the face of modernity and scientific discovery.