Crossing+the+Bar

=Alfred, Lord Tennyson= Alfred Tennyson was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England on August 6, 1809. He was the son of Reverend George Tennyson whose religious office and teachings clearly influenced Tennyson and his writings, evidenced by “Crossing the Bar.” From an early age, Tennyson showed an interest in writing and in poetry in particular. He experienced a rather troublesome adolescence as his father suffered mental breakdowns compounded with alcoholism; several of his brothers were also violent or mentally unstable. So in 1827, Tennyson left home to attend Trinity College in Cambridge where he began his career as a poet. He married Emily Sellwood in 1850 and by the age of 41, Tennyson was the most popular Victorian era poet. He was easily spotted in literary circles as the large, bearded man with a cloak and broad-brimmed hat, as seen in the picture on the right. He accepted a peerage in 1884; thenceforth, he was known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson. He died in 1892—three years after he published “Crossing the Bar”—and was buried in Westminster Abbey. = =

=“Crossing the Bar"=

Published in 1889
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.

Analysis
(and other figurative devices) || Visual, auditory imagery: Metaphor: Repetition: Personification: Capitalisation of abstract nouns:
 * **TIME** || **Example from text** || **Explanation/Impact** ||
 * Theme ||  || * Death is a part of life which must be accepted with dignity and cheerfulness, for there is new life beyond it ||
 * Imagery
 * “Sunset and evening star”
 * “one clear call for me"
 * “no moaning of the bar"
 * “Twilight and evening bell"
 * “When I put out to sea"
 * “Turns again home"
 * “The flood may bear me far"
 * “When I have crossed the bar"
 * “When I put out to sea"
 * “When I embark"
 * “When I have crossed the bar"
 * “no moaning of the bar"
 * “such a tide as moving seems asleep"
 * “Time and Place"
 * “see my Pilot face to face" || * Death seems peaceful and pleasant like an evening sail out on the sea
 * The “ one clear call ” is an unmistakable sign that it is his time to die
 * He does not want his death to be an unhappy affair with “ moaning ” and sad farewells
 * Metaphors act as euphemism for death to make it seem nicer
 * The passage from life into death and the after life has specific stages and destination
 * Sea is the space between the life and after life
 * Home is Heaven
 * Flood is the force which pulls his soul from his body and delivers it to Heaven
 * Bar is the threshold of death which may only be crossed once and one way
 * Repetition provides various ways of stating the same action
 * Capitalisation of abstract nouns indicates their importance to Tennyson on a metaphysical level
 * Pilot refers to God, his maker and guide in life ||
 * Meter || * Four stanzas
 * Four lines each
 * Syllable pattern by stanza:
 * 6, 6, 10, 6
 * 10, 6, 10, 4
 * 6, 6, 10, 4
 * 10, 6, 10, 6
 * Rhyme scheme of ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GHGH || * Syllables of lines arranged to create a light, rhythmic lilt which mimics motion of a boat drifting in the sea
 * Physical appearance of lines evokes image of water rushing up on the beach in tides
 * Rhyme helps the flow of poem ||
 * Emotion || * Calmness
 * Joyfulness
 * Adventurousness
 * Willingness to die || * Positive emotions regarding death
 * Tennyson eagerly anticipates death
 * Soothes readers’ qualms about what may happen after death ||