In the poem, "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold, the third stanza is about the Sea of Faith. He starts by saying the sea is full of water and covering a large area, but it has now retreated. All he can hear is "its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar."
The tide is leaving, the wind is all that is left to hear (breath of the night wind), and all that is left to see are the rocky pebbles from the shore (naked shingles of the world) on the desolate beach (vast edges drear).
The connection the poet is trying to make is that faith was once stretched across the world, filling society; however, faith is now receding, leaving the world empty and desolate. What is left after the Sea of Faith recedes is the feeling of emptiness and lifelessness.
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