1st poem
Crossing the Bar
Alfred Lord 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.
About the Poet
The poem was written by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809–1892),
the Poet Laureate of Victorian England. He is regarded as one of the greatest
English poets of the 19th century. Tennyson often wrote about themes of nature,
death, faith, and immortality. His poems reflect deep personal emotions,
especially his thoughts on life’s end and the hope of meeting God after death.
About the Poem
The poem “Crossing the Bar” was composed in 1889, shortly before
Tennyson’s death. It is often seen as his farewell poem and was placed at the
end of most collections of his works. The imagery of a ship putting out to sea
is used as a metaphor for death. The “bar” represents the sandbar at the mouth
of a harbor, symbolizing the boundary between life and death.
Summary of the Poem
The speaker compares death
to a voyage across the sea at sunset and evening star—symbols
of life’s end. He prays for a peaceful departure, without sadness or mourning,
just as a calm tide flows silently out to the ocean. He accepts death naturally,
seeing it not as an end but as a homecoming.
The poet wishes that when he
“crosses the bar,” there will be no sorrowful farewells. Instead, he expresses
faith and hope that after leaving the world of time and space, he will meet his
“Pilot” (a symbol for God or
divine guide) face to face.
The central message is one of calm acceptance of death, faith in God, and
hope for eternal life.
Exercise
A. Match the words in column A with their
meanings in column B.
moaning – v. complaining
boundless- iv. never-ending; infinite
twilight- vii. dusk
embark – iii. go on board
tho’ – ii. though
bourne- i. a boundary; a limit
crost- vi. crossed
B. Fill in the gaps with the words/phrases given
below to complete the paraphrase of the poem.
I notice the sunset and
evening stars in the sky and hear a sound calling
for me loud and clear. I hope that the sandbar will
not be disturbed when I go out to sea. Instead, I want to be carried out on a tide moving so
slowly it seems almost asleep, and which is too swollen to make a sound. That’s
what I want when I return home
to the depths of the great unknown. Twilight comes with the evening bell which
will be followed by darkness. There don’t need to be any sad goodbyes when I
go. Even though I’ll be going far from this time and place, floating on the tide of death, I hope to
meet God, who
has been like my pilot in this journey, when I’ve made it across the bar.
C. Answer the following questions.
a. Where does the speaker have to go crossing the
sandbar?
⇒
The speaker has to go to the sea crossing the sandbar.
b. Why can’t the tide make a huge sound or create a
lather?
⇒
The tide can’t make a huge sound or create a lather because it seems asleep.
c. What do the twilight and the evening bell
suggest in the poem?
⇒
In the poem, the twilight and the evening bell suggest the end of the day. In a
deeper sense, the speaker’s approaching his end.
d. Where is the speaker going without accepting sad
goodbyes?
⇒
The speaker is going to a sea journey without accepting sad goodbyes.
e. Who is the only agent that helps the speaker to
go far on his journey?
⇒
His Pilot (God) is the only agent that helps the speaker to go far on his
journey.
f. Does the speaker fear death? Why/Why not?
⇒
The speaker does not fear death because he believes that he will be able to see
his creator face-to-face in the afterlife. He believes that death is not the
end, but rather a transition to a new life.
g. What does the pilot symbolise?
⇒
The pilot symbolises God (his creator).
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