Crossing The Bar

Crossing The Bar

By Lord Alfred Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

Meanings of Crossing the Bar

The poem presents the voyage of the speaker that crosses all boundaries. This voyage is like the final journey of man toward eternity after death. Therefore, death and acceptance are the main ideas of the poem.

Meanings of Stanza -1

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

The speaker presents the time of dusk and the emergence of the evening star. Both are necessary for a sea voyage, as the speaker has also heard this call to embark upon his voyage. There will be no moaning when the speaker departs. This stanza sets the stage for the poet to go on his last journey, which is the journey of death. This stanza is the call toward eternity. Therefore, it shows the partial mention of the main idea of death.

Meanings of Stanza -2

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

The speaker states that the tide that moves the ship at this hour seems dormant. It is no longer active now. It is full of sound and foam but not active yet. It comes out of the unfathomable depths of the sea and turns the travelers toward their homes while the speaker is embarking on his final journey. The stanza contributes to the main idea of death by showing that the poet does not see the time as suitable.

Meanings of Stanza -3

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

The speaker sees the twilight engulfing the sea and the evening bells showing signs of the coming darkness. However, the speaker knows that after this darkness prevails, there will be no mourning the farewell when he leaves the harbor. This also shows that the speaker knows that when he is dead, he will be unable to hear the mourning. The darkness has almost approached. This stanza shows the acceptance attitude of the speaker, the main idea of the poem.

Meanings of Stanza -4

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

The speaker states that both time and place give birth to the flood that may take him too far into the sea from where it would be hard to return. Therefore, he states that when he has crossed all the limits, then he would come face to face with the pilot of his ship to inquire him the reasons. This points to the religious attitude of the poet, who sees that he is to meet his Creator following his death and that he would come face to face with God to ask him about the mystery of the world. This stanza completes two main ideas: death and acceptance of death.

Summary of Crossing The Bar

  • Popularity of “Crossing The Bar”: The poem ‘Crossing The Bar’ was written by Lord Alfred Tennyson, a Victorian poet. It is a melodious poetic piece. and was published in his collection Demeter and Other Poems in 1889. This four stanzas poem highlights the poet’s desire to meet death in a metaphorical way. The popularity of the poem lies in its depiction of death as a point of crossing the sandbar that lies between the coast and the sea.
  • “Crossing The Bar” As a Representative of Death and Life Hereafter: The poem presents the scene of the sunset, in the beginning, and the evening, which means he is almost touching the end years of his life and is going to the sea without having to moan of the bar. According to the poet, it is preferable to go by the tide that seems to sleep, and that is what he desires in his life. He says that he does not want any mournful wailings over his death when he “embarks” upon the path to go from this world. He means that even though he would be dying and leaving this time and place, he would be meeting Pilot, who is running the affairs of this ship of the world.
  • Major Themes in “Crossing The Bar”: Peaceful death and Christian life after passing are the major thematic strands of this poem. The poet is contented that he has passed the prime of his life and that he is entering the twilight. He is also satisfied with his expression of the metaphorical presentation of death as a point between the coast and the sea from where he embarks upon a long journey away from this Time and Place. It means that he wants to leave the world to meet his Creator, God, and that he is pleased with what he has done here.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Crossing The Bar

literary devices are essential tools to make writings meaningful and enhance the depth of the poems. The analysis of these devices is given below.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “And one clear call for me”, the sound of /uh/ and the sound of /ee/ in “But such a tide as moving seems asleep” and the sound of /a/ in “And after that the dark!.”
  2. Allusion: It is a device that shows the use of references to some events or figures of historical importance. This poem alludes to God when Alfred Tennyson points to Time and Place.
  3. Alliteration: It is a device that means to use words in quick succession having initials consonants such as /th/ sound in “that the” and the sound of /k/ in “clear call.”
  4. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ and /m/ in “But such a tide as moving seems asleep” and the sound of /l/ in “Twilight and evening bell.”
  5. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

  1. Exclamation: The poem shows the use of exclamations in the first and the third stanza as “And after that the dark!” shows the use of exclamation marks.
  2. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “And one clear call for me”, “And may there be no moaning of the bar” and “The flood may bear me far.”
  3. Juxtaposition: The poem also shows different ideas put together for juxtaposition such as “For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place.
  4. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of the voyage as compared to death or death compared to a sea voyage.
  5. Personification: The poet has personified the tide as if it has life and emotions of its own.
  6. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of call, bar, sea, foam, and sounds for the final journey toward death.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Crossing The Bar

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

  1. Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of poetic diction with a serious tone.
  2. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABAB rhyming pattern in all four stanzas.
  3. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There is a total of four stanzas with each having four verses.
  4. Repetition: The poem shows the use of a rhetorical device of repetition that stresses upon the main idea such as “Seven petals for seven tribes” as this entire stanza is repeated.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from ‘Crossing The Bar’ are relevant to use when teaching about the departure of a person from the scene.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;