How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
For words, like Nature, half reveal
and half conceal the Soul within. (111-112)
Words are flimsy things, Tennyson notes. They don't do a completely adequate job of revealing the truth, but they at least make an attempt. Is he saying this is better than nothing?
Quote #2
[B]ut what am I?
An infant crying in the night:
An infant crying for the light:
And with no language but a cry. (1050-1052)
The speaker is struggling so much with his doubt (because he knows nothing, he's experiencing uncertainty) that he can't even articulate anything. He can only cry like a little baby.
Quote #3
"I watch thee from the quiet shore;
Thy spirit up to mine can reach;
But in dear words of human speech
We two communicate no more." (1673-1676)
This is a poignant moment in the poem where Tennyson imagines that his and Arthur's spirits can somehow connect, but they cannot ever communicate again in the "dear words" of "human speech." This is something that is lost to them forever.