Crossing the Bar
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1809-1892
• Background
The opening two paragraphs of my commentary on Tennyson's "Tithonus" apply here. To be fair to the poet, though, "Tithonus" was a product of his mid-20s; "Crossing the Bar" was written in 1889, the year he turned 80.
• Notes
"the bar" — The waters of a harbor are often protected, partly or fully, by a sandbar parallel to the main coast. In setting out on a voyage the ship will leave its mooring on the coast, cross the harbor, then cross or bypass the bar into the open sea. The dynamics of water draining away from the bar at low tide can generate a moaning noise. Tennyson is using all this as a metaphor for death.
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• Play the reading
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• Text of the poem
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.