"Thou seemest human and divine"
Seemest. I guess what Tennyson is saying is that He, God, is the holiest of manhood, and yet I get the feeling that Tennyson is questioning his faith. Afterall, he did lose his best friend. How horrible it must be to lose a best friend - a person who you shared all your hopes and dreams with, someone who you thought would be there forever.
And then, they're dead?! How beaten Tennyson must have felt. But to say he has lost his faith would be ridiculous...how would people look at him. I wonder what people would say if I told them that I have lost faith. Perhaps they wouldn't care at all...I am in a horrible profession in life. They wouldn't care. Ah, but Tennyson. He's a writer; people look up to him - it must have been hard going through all this.
And yet, there are some parts of this poem where I can see Tennyson recoiling from God almost in disbelief of his Power. The word seemest suggests that he is not taking what the world or what God has dealt him at face value and won't accept the way everything is supposed to work out.
It doesn't seem fair, really.
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You're right Nancy, first Tennyson brings up such a horrible thing to think about (the death of a friend) and then he seems to give mixed signals about God, his powers and desires, and faith. I agree he does seem to recoil from the belief in the Lord throughout this, but it's hard to think that the only reason we're on this Earth is to die. If so, what was the purpose God? Ah, maybe we just need to find the good in life, do good things, and take care of others when we can.
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