“Crossing the Bar” Introduction

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“Crossing the Bar” Summary

“Crossing the Bar” Themes

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  Death, Acceptance, and Christianity

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Crossing the Bar”

• Lines 1-2

  Sunset and evening star,
        And one clear call for me!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 3-4

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

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

     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.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

     Twilight and evening bell,
        And after that the dark!
  And may there be no sadness of farewell,
        When I embark;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

     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.

  

  

  

  

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“Crossing the Bar” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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• Extended Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Polysyndeton

  

  

  

  

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• Sibilance

  

  

  

  

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“Crossing the Bar” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Moaning
• Bar
• Put out
• Boundless
• Embark
• Tho'
• Bourne
• Pilot
• Crost

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Crossing the Bar”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Crossing the Bar” Speaker

“Crossing the Bar” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Crossing the Bar”

More “Crossing the Bar” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Reading of the Poem — "Crossing the Bar" read by British actor Jasper Britton. 

  • A Musical Setting — A choral performance of the poem in England's Ely Cathedral. 

  • Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold — A poem by a contemporary of Tennyson's, Matthew Arnold. Also based in a coastal setting, it makes for an interesting comparison. 

  • Further Poems and Bio — More poems by Tennyson, and an in-depth biographical discussion. 

  • A Radio Documentary — A BBC documentary that focuses on Tennyson's most famous poem, "In Memoriam."

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson

  • Break, Break, Break

  • Tears, Idle Tears

  • The Brook

  • The Charge of the Light Brigade

  • The Eagle

  • The Kraken

  • The Lady of Shalott

  • Tithonus

  • Ulysses