Crossing the Bar
by
Alfred Lord Tennyson
(Summary)
‘Crossing the Bar’ is a short and sweet poem of
Tennyson. Like his other poems this one also contains a note of hope in it. In
this poem the poet does not want other people to mourn on his death, because
after his death he hopes to meet his creator face to face. The poet gives his
testimony of hope through a metaphor of Sea and its waves. The poet bids
farewell to the present life and prepares himself for the life after death.
Lord
Alfred Tennyson in his poem ‘Crossing the Bar’ asks his friends not to mourn on
his death for he thinks that his death is near. In ‘sunset’ and ‘evening star’
he sees his approaching death.
“Sunset
and evening star,
And
one clear call for me”
The
poet says that there should be no moaning when he starts his voyage for another
world. He asks so because he thinks when a person departs from this world he
turns back towards his home. According to him the life in this world is like a
sea which is
“Too
full for sound and foam”
Each
wave in this sea is a particular person. For him twilight and the evening bell
are the clear call for him from the eternal silence.
The
poet says, when he starts his journey for another world after death, he will be
taken out of the limit of the time and place. it may be, he says, that the
waves of the sea may bear him far away from his friends and family but they
should not feel sorry because there he hopes to meet his pilot, the God face to
face. This wish of the poet would be possible only when he crosses the bar of
death.
This
short poem of Tennyson is full of hope though it seems to be a sad one but it
cherishes the readers with hope. The poet has used many symbols in the poem –
sunset and evening star’ & ‘Twilight and evening bell’ are the symbols of
the approaching death. ‘Bar’ is the symbol of the death, ‘pilot’ is God, and
‘sea’ suggests the world. The rhythm of the poem changes according to the
thought. First two lines of the poem are of six syllables each, third line is
of 10, fourth again of six and fifth of ten but each line of the poem is of two
to three metrical feet. The poet starts his poem abruptly with a sad note but
gives a turn to his poem and ends it with a note of hope.
The
poem shows Tennyson’s strong belief in the immortality of the soul. The poet
does not experience any feeling of fear at the approach of his death. He also
does not experience any regret at having to depart from this world. On the
contrary he expresses a feeling of peace and the hope that he will see God face
to face. This mood of the poet is of optimism. The climax of the poem is in the
last lines of the poem in which he shows his deep faith and reverence in God
and for God.
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