CROSSING THE BAR

INTRODUCTION
In A Nutshell
Like just about every other poem in the English language, "Crossing the Bar" is about death. See, Tennyson spent nearly
forty years on top of his game as Poet Laureate of Great Britain. After this stretch, he was feeling the heat in 1889. He was
80 years old (that's pretty old, even by our standards today), and he knew he didn't have a whole lot of time left.

Sounds like he was ripe for a near-death experience, right? Right. Legend has it that during a short voyage across the
Solentthe body of water that separates mainland England from The Isle of Wight (where Tennyson had a home)
Tennyson got sick. Really really sick. He eventually recovered, but this illness was enough to remind the poet laureate that
nobody lives forever. And what does a great poet do when he has a brush with death? He writes a great poem of course.
Hence, "Crossing the Bar."

In this short, intense little ditty, Tennyson reflects on his own impending kicking of the bucket. At the ripe old age of 80, he
knows that he'll "cross the bar" soon enough, but he doesn't seem freaked out or bummed. In fact, he sounds kind of
confidentserene, even. The guy's as ready as he'll ever be. Maybe that confidence helps explain why Tennyson insisted
that "Crossing the Bar" be the last poem in any volume of his poetry published during and after his lifetime. This, ladies and
gentlemen, was his swan song.

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

They say that nothing in life is certain except death and taxes, but here's the thing. Sure, tax returns may seem
incomprehensible, but at the end of the day, there's an order and a logic to the whole process. Taxes are knowable. Death?
Not so much.

To channel Captain Obvious, death is scary. We don't know what's on the other side. Sure, we have our guesses, stories,
beliefs, legends, and scriptures. But no oneand we mean no oneknows for sure. And, as Captain Obvious would say,
the unknown is scary, too.

But as with most things, attitude is everything. Death might be one of the most terrifying facts of life, but if we accept it, and if
we choose to look at it in a different light, we can conquer that fear. Tennyson's here to show us how.

"Crossing the Bar" is about not only the inevitability of death, but also about accepting it, about looking at death as not an
end, but only a transition. There's no denying that the poem is a little sad, but the speaker seems pretty mellow, even
peaceful, if you think about it. For him, death isn't just about heartbreak and tragedy. It's also about hope.

In the poem's final lines, he tells us that he might finally get to meet his "Pilot" (God) "face to face." So for him, death isn't the
shutting down of the body, but rather a journey that might lead to a new beginning. It's an exploration, an adventure, and
there's no ticket necessary.

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 CROSSING THE BAR: TEXT OF
THE POEM
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Crossing the Bar

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 though 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 crossed the bar.

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CROSSING THE BAR SUMMARY

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The speaker, who's headed out to sea soon, hopes that the tide will be calm, cool, and collected. He also hopes that when
he sets sail, no one's going to make a big, sad show of saying adios. That's because, while he might be headed into some
dark times, he knows he's about to meet his Pilot, and that's a very good thing. Hmm. Shmoop smells a metaphor.

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STANZAS 1-2 SUMMARY

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Get out the microscope, because were going through this

poem line-by-line.
Lines 1-2
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!

The poem opens with the speaker talking about the "sunset" and the "evening star." It is the end of the day
("sunset"), and the evening star, which is actually the planet Venus, is rising.
The end of the day is, apparently, a "clear call" for the speaker. But a "clear call" for what? To go home? Is there
some kind of horn blowing? Does he have really stellar reception on his cell?
At this point in the poem, it's still too early to tell, but we'll keep theimage in mind. Maybe it's a metaphor for
something.
But wait a minute. We know already that Tennyson wrote this puppy when he was nearing the end of his life. So
maybejust maybehe's speaking metaphorically here about his approaching death. That would explain the
sunset, and the call could be all those trumpets, beckoning him to heaven.
But then again, the speaker is also trying not to think about himself.

Lines 3-4
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

The speaker hopes there will be no "moaning of the bar" when he puts out to sea. Sage words, those are. If there's
one thing Shmoop knows, it's that moaning and moping in bars is always a bad idea.
Except the bar here refers to a sandbarnot the boozy kind. Sandbars often form in the mouths of rivers and
harbors, and they're something you need to get past if you're hoping to set sail on the wide-open ocean.
 Apparently the speaker doesn't want the sandbar to be disturbed by his departure. But if we really are
talking figuratively about death here (as we guessed in the first two lines), then we'll have to interpret what's going
on in those terms.
If he is talking about his departure from life (and not a literaldeparture from an actual harbor), then he doesn't want
the sandbar, or anybody else for that matter, to make a huge fuss out of it.
In that sense, it sounds like the sandbar is a metaphor for the boundary between life and death, or life and the
afterlife. And to reach the afterlife, he has to cross that bar.
Shmoopers and Shmoopettes, now that we have one stanza behind us, it's time to talk form. We know we're
working with something traditional because we've got some rhyming action going down. Starrhymes with bar,
and me rhymes with sea. Looks like we've got ourselves a good old-fashioned ABAB rhyme scheme.
But what about meter? Well, that's a little less clear. Lines 1, 2, and 4 all have six syllables and a sort of daDUM
daDUM feeling about them. And line 3 has ten syllables, hinting at iambic pentameter. It seems like we'll be
dealing with a mix of iambic meters in this poem, so head on over to the "Form and Meter" section for more.

Lines 5-6
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam

Looks like, instead of a moaning bar, our speaker would rather sail on "such a tide as moving seems asleep." Get
it? Got it? No?
Shmoop's got your back. Basically, he's just saying that he'd rather be sailing at high tide, when that sandbar is
buried way beneath the water.
In order for that to happen, the tide has to be "too full for sound and foam." In other words, the tide has to be high
enough that waves won't break on the sandbar. He can just sail right over it, and be on his merry (deadly) way.
Tennyson is really flexing his poetry muscles here. Not only is he using the metaphor of sailing to talk about kicking
the bucket (and seriously, which one would you rather talk about?), he's also using some figurative language to
describe the sea on which he sails. He wants it to seem asleep as it moves, as if the sea were alive.

Lines 7-8
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

More tide metaphors here. In fact, we're verging into extended metaphor territory here, when you consider the fact
that he's been going on about the tide for a good two stanzas.
Here, he's continuing the hope he laid out at the beginning of the stanzathat when he sets sail for, you know, the
grand adventure that is death, he wants the tide to be high.
Only in this case, he's using more fancy figurative language to say it.
"That which drew from out the boundless deep"? That's the tide, being drawn out into the sea (or "boundless
deep") by the moon when the tide is low.
"When it turns again home" refers to when the tide comes back in, filling the harbor and covering the sandbar.
If the tide is in, that makes for smooth sailing for our speaker. He can cruise right out over that sandbar with
nothing standing between him and the boundless deep. Lucky him?
There's a flip side to this reading though. You might also think that "that which" actually refers to the speaker. As
in, he hopes the tide will be cooperative when his soul returns to its home in the boundless deep, or death.

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STANZAS 3-4 SUMMARY

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Get out the microscope, because were going through this

poem line-by-line.
Lines 9-10
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!

Not that we're expert sailors or anything, but does it sound a little risky to anyone else that this dude is setting sail
at twilight of all times? Fair warning, fair Shmoopers, the open ocean in the pitch dark sounds like a recipe for
sheer terror.
But nevertheless, our speaker's headed that waysetting sail after the sun has set, and planning to still be at sail
when he reaches the open ocean, where electricity is hard to come by.
These lines call back to the first stanza, when the speaker cries, "sunset and evening star." Only here,
the imagery has changed a bit. It's now twilight (not sunset), and he hears a bell, instead of a call. Time is
passingit's a bit later in the process.
The bell reminds us of two thingsthe bells you might hear on boats in a harbor, and the trumpets we mentioned
in stanza 1, which call people to the afterlife.

Lines 11-12
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

Oooh, things are getting personal. The speaker, when he finally sails on out of this harbor, doesn't want the people
he leaves behind to be bummed and make a big scene.
In fact, it sounds like he doesn't even want these folks to say goodbye at all. There's just too much sadness in all
that tear-jerking fanfare.
In yet another echo of the first stanza, these words call back to the speaker's wish for no "moaning of the bar."
The gist here is that this guy wants to just slip away in the nightno muss, no fuss, no awkward side hugs or
cheek kisses. When he goes, he just wants to be gone.

Lines 13-16
For though 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 crossed the bar.
 All right Shmoopers, it's time to get this show on the road. The speaker brings it home in this final stanza, wrapping
up his sailing-as-death extended metaphor and leaving us with a little spiritual hope to boot.
First, he says he knows that "the flood," or sea may "bear [him] far," or take him far beyond the "bourne of Time
and Place," or boundary of time and place.
This is the first dead-on, unmistakable moment in which we know that this guy is not talking about a weekend sail
on his sloop. We mean, we've never heard of a seaside town called Time and Placehave you?
Then, he says that, even though he knows this is all gonna go down, it's cool, because he thinks he's going to get
to see his "Pilot face to face."
What's that about? Well, if we're following the whole sailing-as-death metaphor through, our best guess is that our
speaker's Pilot (with that capital letter and all) is none other than God himselfthe man upstairs. Instead of a pilot
of a boat, God has been the pilot of this speaker's life.
And guess what? When the speaker finally crosses that sandbar and reaches the open oceanwhen he finally
crosses over into death, we mean, he'll come face to face with God in heaven.
So really, it's not all that bad. Sure, he's headed into darkness, but at least God's at the other end of it.

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THE OCEAN
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Symbol Analysis
Water water everywhere. And not a drop of it is literal. That's right, folks, in this poem, the ocean is one whopper of a
metaphor, representing that Great Gig in the Sky, death.

Lines 3-4: The speaker wants there to be no "moaning of the bar" when he sets out for sea. A sandbar can't really
moan, so you might call this personification. It's also a bit of a pathetic fallacy, since this sandbar seems really
bummed about something. And what's got that sandbar so down in the dumps? Probably the fact that the speaker
is setting out to sea, which in this poem, means he's just about to kick the bucket.
Line 5: When the speaker wishes for "such a tide as moving seems asleep," he's telling us that he's hoping that
when he finally does die, it'll be smooth sailingthe tide will be in, and he won't run aground on that pesky
sandbar.
Lines 7-8: The speaker describes the tide that "drew from out the boundless deep." The phrase "that which" might
also refer to his soul, which is returning home to the sea, or death.
Lines 13-14: By now, it's probably pretty clear that the idea of the flood carrying the speaker far away is
a metaphor for death.
 Line 16: Here comes that pesky sandbar again. At this point, it's safe to assume that the speaker is being
totally figurative here. He's not worried about an actual sandbar. He's talking about crossing the barrier between
life and death.

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NIGHT
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Symbol Analysis
Sunset. Twilight. Dark. Yep, that's pretty much how it goes when you die. First, you grow a little older, a little crustier. Then
you grow really old and crusty. And finally, you reach the point of no returnfull on nighttime. At least, that's how our
speaker sees it.

Line 1: The speaker opens the poem by talking about "sunset and evening star." It's the first night imagery, and it
sets a tone for what will soon become a whole slew of metaphors comparing death to the coming of night.
Line 5: When the speaker mentions sleep here, we can't help but think of nighttime.
Line 9: "Twilight and evening bell" both refer to a time of day, but, like the images in line 1, they're
also metaphors for the speaker's advanced age and impending death.
Line 10: After twilight, there is nothing but "the dark." Scary, right? This creepy little line is a reminder that we have
no idea what's coming when it comes to death. We're totally in the darkpardon thepun.

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SOUNDS
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Symbol Analysis
For a poem about death, this one sure is noisy. Mostly, those noises are there to remind us of the human grief that
surrounds death, but they're also the death knell itselfa sound to remind the speaker that it's time to go.

Line 2: The "sunset and evening star" act like a "call" for the speaker to make his final journey from life to death.
The call probably isn't literal; it seems to be a metaphor for the speaker's belief that death is headed his way.
Line 3: The bar can't actually moan or anything, so this is an example of personification, the attribution of human
qualities to non-human things. But it's also a moment in which the land itselfthis sandbarseems to be
mourning for the speaker. That mourning is reflected in the sound it makes, which is really nothing more than the
sound of water flowing up over the bar.
Line 6: The speaker hopes for a tide that is "too full for sound and foam," meaning he'd like to pass quietly out into
the open ocean, without much ado. No crashing of the waves, please and thank you.
Line 9: At twilight, there's an "evening bell." The bell reminds us of the death knella traditional ringing of a bell to
signal that a person has passed on.

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SAILING
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Symbol Analysis
If the sea represents death, well then sailing represents that long, slow journey toward death. Setting out from the safe
harbor of life and into the great unknown of death is the central metaphor of "Crossing the Bar," and while it may seem
obvious, it's definitely worth a closer look.

Line 4: The speaker is putting out to sea in this line, but given all we know about the poem, we know that this
means he's heading out on his final journeytoward death.
Lines 5-8: Wanting the tide to clear the way for him, the speaker hopes for easy conditions, so he can get out of
the harboror lifewithout too much ado.
Line 12: "Embark" here has, as you've probably realized by now, little to do with actually setting sail. It's
a metaphor for leaving the land of the living and heading off for the afterlife.
Line 14: The flood, or sea, is bearing him toward death. And once he crosses the bar, there's no turning back.
 Line 15: The "Pilot" here refers to God. It's the perfect culmination of the sailing-as-dying metaphor, since, as the
pilot of the speaker's boat, God has been steering him on this course the whole time.

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ANALYSIS: FORM AND METER

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Iambic Meters
The meter of "Crossing the Bar" is all over the place; in fact, there are three different kinds of meter. But let's start small,
shall we?

Check out line 12: "When I embark." Hear that daDUM daDUM? That's iambic dimeter, which is poetry's fancy pants way of
saying the line contains two iambsno more, no less.

Then there's line 2: "And one clear call for me

That's followed by line 3, which goes, "And may there be no moaning of thebar." We have five daDUMs here, which means
Tennyson has given us a line of everyone's favorite meter, iambic pentameter.

So why can't Tennyson just pick one meter and stick to it? That's a fair question. We'd call him flighty and sloppy if we
weren't sure he was up to something. Tennyson is forever making mischief. In this case, he's using those varying meters to
mimic the back and forth flow of the oceanone minute it's a short little wave, the next, it's more of a swell. And check out
the way every other line is indented. That does the same thing, too, huh?

The Big Blue Picture

Now that we've given you the nitty gritty, let's zoom out. "Crossing the Bar" is composed of four rhyming stanzas of four lines
each, a.k.a. quatrains. Each of those quatrains has alternating rhymes, giving the entire poem a rhyme scheme of ABAB
CDCD EFEF (Lady) GAGA.

The rhyme scheme of the poem complements its themes in one really cool way. Think about it like this: The poem suggests
that death isn't necessarily the end, but rather that there is some other life beyond death, right? In the same way that life
goes on after death, the poem's lines continue even after they end, in the form of another line that rhymes with it. Lines are
married together, just like life and death are. So even though the line ends, it's never really over.

And did you notice that the A rhyme returns in the last stanza? The poem comes full circle, in that words in the last stanza
rhyme with words in the first stanza. So much for endings, right? In "Crossing the Bar," deathand poetic formare all
about new beginnings.
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ANALYSIS: SPEAKER
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If we know one thing for sure about the speaker of "Crossing the Bar," it's that he's about to die. It's not clear if he's really
old, or just sick, or some sort of old, kooky clairvoyant, but somehow he knows that death is just around the corner. He
keeps talking about putting out to sea (4, 12, 14-16), which sure sounds like a metaphor for death if we ever saw one. All the
images of sunset and evening (1, 9-10) and sleep (5) strengthen the impression that death is coming for the speaker.

Even though he's close to death, the speaker doesn't seem at all afraid. He doesn't want anybody to weep and moan (3, 11)
because he's pretty confident that good stuff is waiting for him just around the bend. What good stuff? Well, in the poem's
final stanza, he talks all about meeting his "Pilot face to face" (15), which tells us that he's a believer, and he's ready to meet
his maker.

You've gotta hand it to our speaker. He's about to kick the bucket, and yet he still manages to look on the bright side.

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ANALYSIS: SETTING
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Where It All Goes Down

Literally speaking, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that this poem takes place in a boat, on the water, at night, as the
speaker heads out to sea. Come one, we've got sandbars, tolling bells, tides, twilight, and all that maritime jazz.
But that's just literally speaking.

If you want to get figurative (and Shmoop always wants to get figurative), you could say that this poem takes place in a kind
of spiritual, mental netherworld, somewhere between life and death. It's clear the speaker isn't gone yet because he's
making plans for when he finally does set out to sea. But it's also clear that he's no longer quite so attached to the world of
the living, because he's totally ready to meet his maker.

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ANALYSIS: WHAT'S UP WITH

THE TITLE?
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"Crossing the Bar" has nothing to do with making eyes at the hottie at the other end of a drinking establishment. The bar
here is a sandbaryou know those bars of sand at the mouths of harbors and rivers? They make a boundary of sorts,
protecting the harbor from rocky waves, and keeping folks from setting sail on the open sea with too much ease.

To leave the harbor behind and sail out on the open oceanto cross the baris Tennyson's metaphorical way of talking
about death. Why thatparticular metaphor? Well, if you think about it, it actually makes perfect sense. Death is merely the
crossing of another type of boundary or barrier (the "bar" between life and death, real life and the afterlife). When somebody
dies, they leave the safe harbor of life and enter the vast unknown of the afterlife, whatever that may be.

The great unknown that is death is a lot like the ocean. The ocean is massive, huge, so big that it is sometimes impossible
to comprehend. And you know what? So is death. It's a huge part of everyone's lifethe end of everyone's journey. Yet
somehow, we don't know anything about it. The only difference here is that, when we cross literal sandbars, we can always
turn right back around and head back to harbor. But in life, once we cross that bar, there's no going back.

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ANALYSIS: CALLING CARD

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Sailing the Seas in Perfect Meter

Tennyson loved to talk about sailing the ocean. And Tennyson loved his perfect meter. Check out "Ulysses" and "The Lady
of Shalott" for more watery, metered masterpieces.

"Crossing the Bar," a poem that at Tennyson's request has been the epitaph for his poetic output ever since he published
the poem in 1889, is no exception. The poem is full of oceanic imagery like the bar (3, 16), the sea (4), the tide (5), the deep
(7), the flood (14). In Tennyson's poetry, the ocean is associated with adventure, the unknown, and death, all three of which
seem to be at play in this poem. In this case, the speaker embarks on his final journey; he leaves the harbor of lifecrosses
the barand heads out for the great, unknown ocean that is death.

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ANALYSIS: TOUGH-O-METER
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(1) Sea Level

"Crossing the Bar" is not going to throw you for a loop. Sure, it may ask you to question the nature of death, life, and
everything in between, but it'll only use dime words to do so. There's smooth sailing ahead.

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ANALYSIS: TRIVIA
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Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge

The great twentieth century poet T.S. Eliot once said that Tennyson had "the finest ear of any English poet since Milton."
Eliot is actually buried next to Tennyson in Westminster Abbey, so maybe he's a little biased. (Source.)

And the Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw said that Tennyson "had the brains of a third rate policeman." Classic literary
burn. (Source.)

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CROSSING THE BAR THEME OF

DEATH
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If the sandbar is Tennyson's metaphor for the boundary between life and death, then "Crossing the Bar" is all about crossing
from life to death. But if you think you're in for a morbid poem, you're in for a surprise instead. This poem is all about
accepting and embracing death, rather than fearing the dark unknown.

Questions About Death

1. What is the speaker's attitude to death in this poem? Is he bummed, pumped, or somewhere in between?
2. Why do you think the speaker chooses a sandbar as his metaphor for the boundary between life and death? Is it
an effective comparison? Why or why not?
 3. What is the speaker referring to when he says "one clear call for me" (2)? Who's making the call? What is it calling
him to?

Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
What Tennyson's really trying to say here is that if you relax a bit, death is as peaceful and easy as putting out to sea.

Death is not the end, but a new beginning; the reference to the sunset suggests as much. The sun sets, but it always rises
again.

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CROSSING THE BAR THEME OF

OLD AGE
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"Crossing the Bar" isn't just about death; it's also about what comes before death in most casesold age. The references to
sunset and evening in the poem remind us that the evening of the speaker's life is in full swing and that night, or death, is
fast approaching. But the nice thing about old age is that it comes with its fair share of wisdom. And in this case, our speaker
has grown wise enough to know that death isn't an end, but a beginning.

Questions About Old Age

1. Does the speaker seem like he cares about his old age? Why or why not?
2. Does this poem only apply to people who grow old and die? Or can it apply to people who die before they reach
old age?
3. What are the benefits, if any, of old age? What are the benefits in this poem in particular?

Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
Old age brings a peaceful acceptance of death, and that's a very good thing.

The mention of "sunset" and "twilight" imply that old age is simultaneously a death and a rebirth.
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CROSSING THE BAR THEME OF

THE HOME
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One of the great ironies of "Crossing the Bar" is that the speaker's departure from the harborfrom lifeisn't really a
departure at all. In one way, the speaker seems to suggest that he is leaving a world in which he never really belonged and
is finally returning home. The soul's true home is not the "bourne of Time and Place," but rather the open ocean, beyond the
bar.

Questions About The Home

1. Can you relate to the speaker's journey to return home? Is death a kind of homecoming in any way?
2. Does the speaker really think death is a homecoming, or does he just say that to make himself feel better?
3. Who or what do you think is calling the speaker home?

Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
This poem shows us that death is a departure, sure, but it is also a homecoming for the soul.

If death is a homecoming, then life ("the bourne of time and place") turns out to be a place where a person doesn't really
belong (at least not permanently).

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 CROSSING THE BAR DEATH
QUOTES
See more famous quotes from poetry

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1
2

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me! (1-2)
This just might be one of the most mysterious moments in the poem. Having read the whole thing, we can see how
the imagerymight refer to death. But who's calling our speaker? And what are they calling him to? Is it the pilot, from the last
stanza?

Death

Quote #2
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea. (3-4)
The speaker says he will put out to sea, almost as if he will voluntarily cross the boundary between life and death. The
speaker's active role here suggests that he accepts death, that he willingly "puts out to sea." Hey, maybe he's his own pilot.

Death

Quote #3
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark! (9-10)
The word "dark" is a wee bit worrisome here. The poem's last stanza talks about something resembling an afterlifethe
speaker hopes he will meet God (the "Pilot")but here it kind of seems like there is nothing after death but dark, a big giant
blank.

Death

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How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark; (11-12)
Death isn't death, or rather death isn't what we think it is; it can be as casual or as simple as embarking, as getting in a boat
and taking off for a different, even better place. At least, that's how the speaker sees it. But do you buy his version of
events?

Death

Quote #5
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far, (13-14)
Death seems to represent a release from all the limits (the "bourne") of mortal life. Instead of being a bad thing, death is
actually a departure from all the constraints and annoyances of life on earth. Life on earth, in fact, might be more like death
than death. So look on the bright side, Shmoopers.

Death

Quote #6
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar. (15-16)
The speaker says he hopes to see his "Pilot" (probably God) after he crosses the bar. The fact that he "hopes" implies that
he's not entirely sure he will meet God after he dies. Uncertainty abounds. But hey, that's kind of the point.

Death

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CROSSING THE BAR OLD AGE

QUOTES
See more famous quotes from poetry

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 1

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me! (1-2)
These first lines tell us that the speaker has reached the "sunset" and "evening" of his life. He's old, the end is nigh, etc. etc.
What's really interesting is how he reacts to that factwith serene resolve, rather than frantic freaking out.

Old Age

Quote #2
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark! (9-10)
Twilight can refer to the time just after sunset and the time just before dawn. Sure, the speaker is oldin the twilight of his
life. But the fact that twilight can also be associated with dawn suggests that old age might also herald the beginning of a
new day, a second youth.

Old Age

Quote #3
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark; (11-12)
The speaker shows the wisdom of old age in these lines; he doesn't want there to be any "sadness" when he crosses the
bar. Perhaps this is because he has accepted death, and realizes that it isn't the end. Or maybe he's just trying to save his
loved one's a little pain. Either way, good move, dude.

Old Age

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CROSSING THE BAR THE HOME

QUOTES
See more famous quotes from poetry

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1
2

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me! (1-2)
In the same way that the sun "goes home" for the night, so, too, must the speaker. He's being called, and it is hard not to
think of that call as a summons to return home to meet his maker, who is, in this case, God.

The Home

Quote #2
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home! (7-8)
It seems like the speaker is talking about his soul, which will "turn again home" after he dies. It's almost as if the life he is
about to conclude wasn't "real," only a vacation or temporary separation from his true home.

The Home

Quote #3
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark! (9-10)
"Evening bell" recalls the second line of the poem, where the speaker talks about being called. In both lines, the speaker
acts as though he is being summoned home or called back to the place he really belongsthe afterlife, which in this case
is symbolized by the open ocean.

The Home

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How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar. (15-16)
The speaker hopes to meet his "Pilot," the guy that has guided and directed his whole life. It's a reunion of sorts, a
homecoming.

The Home

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CROSSING THE BAR

QUESTIONS
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Bring on the tough stuff - theres not just one right answer.
1. Does this poem seem sad? Melancholy? Depressing? Hopeful? A mixture of all four? What line in the poem best
illustrates its tone?
2. Why do you think the speaker uses the word "Pilot" to refer to God? What effect does this have? Is it just an
extension of the metaphor of the poem, or is there something deeper going on?
3. What effect does Tennyson achieve by organizing the poem into four stanzas? And what about the rhyme
scheme?
4. Is sailing an effective or ineffective metaphor for death? What makes you say so?
5. Is this a good poem to put last in collections of Tennyson's poetry? Why or why not? Why do you think he wanted it
to end every collection of his work?

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