Dover Beach" laments the loss of faith and the decline of traditional values in Victorian England. The speaker expresses a sense of longing for the past and a fear of the unknown future. The poem ends with a pessimistic vision of the future, with the speaker declaring that "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 now I only hear / Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar."
"Recessional" is a more optimistic poem, but it also expresses a sense of doubt and uncertainty. The speaker acknowledges that the British Empire is at its peak, but he also warns that it is not invincible. He calls on the British people to be humble and to remember that "the tumult and the shouting dies; / The captains and the kings depart." The poem ends with a prayer for guidance and protection, as the speaker asks God to "bid not Britain fail."