Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 2741-2752
O living will that shalt endure
When all that seems shall suffer shock,
Rise in the spiritual rock,
Flow thro' our deeds and make them pure,
That we may lift from out of dust
A voice as unto him that hears,
A cry above the conquer'd years
To one that with us works, and trust,
With faith that comes of self-control,
The truths that never can be proved
Until we close with all we loved,
And all we flow from, soul in soul.
- Tennyson begs the soul (the immortal spirit) to help mankind rise above his deeds and to make them pure, so that Jesus can hear their cries.
- Faith engenders self-control and allows people to believe in things that remain unproven.
- In the end, the individual's earthly life will come to a close, and all of the souls will meet each other in the afterlife.