In Memoriam - Tenneyson's Loss of Hallam
... completed his grieving, but is ready to rejoin others, and perhaps grieve with them. His fear is that by staying alone with his heartache, he will “stiffen into stone” (2) and ultimately do nothing but lament his loss. The loss of his dear friend has caused him to question his faith: “What profit lies in barren faith, / And vacant yearning, though with might / To scale the heaven’s highest height, / Or dive below the wells of Death?” (5-8). He is asking what good he can gain from his faith, which he now feels is barren. He knows his faith cannot bring back Hallam, and he wonders, what is the use of it? His questioning of faith has caused him to also question the worth of his work: “What find I in the highest place, / But mine own phantom chanting hymns? / And on the depths of death there swims / The reflex of a human face.” (9-12). Tennyson sees himself as a “phantom”: insubstantial and inconsequential – his face is not even a real face, it is a ...