Crossing the Bar Poem Summary

The summary of “crossing the bar” goes as I see the sun setting and the evening star in the sky, and I also clearly hear someone calling out to me. When I head out to sea, I’m hoping the sandbar won’t be disturbed.

Instead, I want to be carried out by a tide that is too voluminous to make noise or produce a wash and is flowing so slowly that it nearly looks to be asleep. When I go back home to the depths of the unknown, I want that.

The evening bell ushers in the twilight, which will be followed by darkness. When I go, there shouldn’t be any tearful farewells.

Even though I’ll be drifting on the tide of death, distant from this time and place, I hope to run into God, who has served as my guide during my voyage.

Structure 

Each of the four stanzas of “Crossing the Bar” follows the ABAB rhyme pattern, which is quite regular.

The poem’s tone is calmed and comforted by this regularity, which reflects the speaker’s belief that death is not something to be dreaded. The certainty of the tides coming in and out is also expressed by the rhymes’ constancy.

Given how widely the lines vary in length, this effect is particularly helpful since it allows the poem to remain consistent and clearly delineates where one line ends and another begins. It’s also important to note that the poem’s rhyme pattern and tone repeat at its conclusion.

This tidy conclusion signifies a similar sense of return in the rhyme scheme to complement the poem’s portrayal of death as a form of homecoming and reunion with God rather than as something to be feared.

Crossing the Bar: Literary Devices

Tennyson employs a number of literary devices in “Crossing the Bar.” A metaphor is a comparison between two unrelated, dissimilar items that also appear in the text but do not utilize the words “like” or “as.”

When a poet uses this strategy, they are arguing that two things are identical, not merely similar. The speaker is referring to death as he talks of the water, his impending departure, and the voyage he will take.

When two or more words that start with the same letter are used consecutively or at least closely together, alliteration occurs. For instance, “clear and call” and “face to face” in the poem.

Enjambment is a significant method frequently utilized in poetry. It happens when a line is terminated before it would naturally cease. A reader must swiftly go on to the next line and the following one because of enjambment. To easily resolve a phrase or sentence, one must proceed. Take the change between lines three and four in the second verse as an illustration.

Detailed Analysis of Crossing the Bar by Tennyson

In the poem “Crossing the Bar,” the speaker confronts the reality of impending death and discovers a certain calm in the idea of passing away. The speaker portrays death as only a passage into a different sort of existence, not something to be feared. The speaker asks that there be no “sadness of departure” on their behalf and compares this to crossing a sandbar, the sort that indicates the transition from a coastal area to a sea or ocean.

Thus, the poem is by its very nature a defence of embracing death, with the consoling awareness of God’s love serving as consolation.

The speaker of the poem begins by outlining the environment. He claims that the evening star is visible in the sky and that it is sunset. The speaker is receiving a call. It is an audible, definite call. It is the death knell. The speaker thinks his demise is imminent. It’s interesting to observe the picture the poet uses to introduce the poem to the reader.

The words “sunset” and “evening star” signify the close of the day. The speaker claims that his life is also coming to an end as the day is going to come to an end. The poet describes death as an act of moving beyond life by using his well-known metaphor, “Crossing the bar.” Here, the word “bar” refers to a sandbar.

A sandbar is a geographical formation that develops around a river’s mouth or extends from a ‘Spit’ as a result of the gradual deposition of sediments carried by the current over millions of years. The building acts as a sort of barrier between the river water within and the outside water (the open sea). This sandbar serves as the poet’s representation of death, with the water inside it standing in for his life and the water beyond it for the hereafter. He desires to “go out to sea” devoid of “the bar’s wailing.”

Lord Tennyson, a poet, compares his imminent demise to crossing a bar in the poem Alfred. The poem’s speaker discusses the inevitable nature of death in the second stanza.

The poet desires that his death, which occurs when he “put(s) out to sea,” will resemble a ride that appears to be dozing off as it travels. The speaker wishes to pass away peacefully. The speaker wishes for a silent, swift, and painless death, like a wave at sea that is “too full for sound and foam.”

The poet describes the type of death he wants for himself using the metaphors of a river and a sea. As the water from the sea evaporates, it condenses into clouds, which then produce rain, which carries the water from the river and finally returns it to the sea. They thereby complete a cycle, and the water goes back to its original location.

The speaker claims that he is going back to where he came from, comparing himself to water. The phrase “the endless deep” in this context appears to be an allegory for the sea and the location the poet believes he will visit after death.

In order to express his inner sentiments in the third stanza, the poet once more turns to describe the environment. When the speaker began the poetry, it was dusk; now it is twilight. The sun has already set and night is beginning to fall. The evening bell is ringing, which the speaker can hear. It serves as a warning that darkness is drawing near.

Then it eventually becomes dark. It is dark. Here, the poet employs twilight to depict his situation. His life is going to end, just as the day has already come to an end. Here, the speaker’s pre-death misery is represented by the speaker’s twilight, which stands for melancholy, gloom, and despair.

The speaker wishes that there won’t be any “sadness of farewell” after his passing. The phrase “anguish of departure” has two possible interpretations: either the speaker’s sadness as he leaves this world or the sadness of those he leaves behind and who is bidding him farewell.

In the previous part of the poem, the speaker’s optimistic perspective about dying can be seen. This poem’s final stanza serves as an example of it. We recognize that the speaker has come to terms with the inevitable nature of death. He seems to have accepted the fact that his time was running out.

He claims that the torrent of death will transport him far away and that he will be outside the bounds of space and time. This is beyond what is possible in this world. The speaker implies that he intends to move to a location outside of our dimension following passing away. Thus, we are aware of the poet’s conviction in the hereafter.

The poem’s concluding words include several allusions and veiled references. First, the speaker tells us that he expects to meet his pilot face to face when he has passed the bar. The word “pilot” in this context alludes to God. Lord Tennyson had unusual religious beliefs.

He disapproved of Christianity on the one hand, yet his works make extensive use of religious concepts and objects. We find the pilot connection to the divine realm in the poem since it is believed that God is the engine that powers the universe and all living things.

Thus, the poem finishes on a hopeful note with the poet admitting the certainty of death but still expressing the hope of encountering God in the hereafter.

FAQ

What is the main theme of ‘Crossing the Bar‘?

In “Crossing the Bar,” the acceptance of death, trips and homecomings, and God and faith are the key topics. Acceptance of death: The poem takes a wise, accepting, and even hopeful stance toward the passage from life to death.

What does ‘Crossing the Bar‘ symbolize?

The phrase “Crossing the Bar” might be taken to indicate “crossing the sandbar” into death when one enters the sea. The Pilot represents God. The Pilot has been on board the entire time, but in the darkness, I have not seen him, Tennyson wrote. He is the Divine and Unseen One who always leads us.

What does the evening Star symbolize?

A price upswing’s peak and the appearance of evening star patterns both indicate that the uptrend is about to terminate. The morning star pattern, which is seen as a bullish indication, is the opposite of the evening star pattern.

What is the moral lesson of ‘Crossing the Bar‘ by Tennyson?

The poem’s moral message is that since death is a natural process, we shouldn’t ever fear or lament it. We have to peacefully embrace death and cross the line between life and death in order to see the creator, God, face to face.