"Crossing the Bar" is a poem by the British Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The poem, written in 1889, is a metaphorical meditation on death, which sees the speaker comparing dying—or a certain way of dying—to gently crossing the sandbar between a coastal area and the wider sea/ocean. In essence, it is a poem that argues that death is in fact a kind of comfort, a point of view based on the speaker's religious faith in the afterlife. Accordingly, the speaker wants to die quietly and gently, without fear, reassured by the knowledge that what comes next is a meeting with God. "Crossing the Bar" was written shortly before Tennyson's own death, and is the poem that Tennyson wanted placed at the end of all future collections and editions of his poetry.
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The Full Text of “Crossing the Bar”
1Sunset and evening star,
2 And one clear call for me!
3And may there be no moaning of the bar,
4 When I put out to sea,
5 But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
6 Too full for sound and foam,
7When that which drew from out the boundless deep
8 Turns again home.
9 Twilight and evening bell,
10 And after that the dark!
11And may there be no sadness of farewell,
12 When I embark;
13 For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
14 The flood may bear me far,
15I hope to see my Pilot face to face
16 When I have crost the bar.
The Full Text of “Crossing the Bar”
1Sunset and evening star,
2 And one clear call for me!
3And may there be no moaning of the bar,
4 When I put out to sea,
5 But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
6 Too full for sound and foam,
7When that which drew from out the boundless deep
8 Turns again home.
9 Twilight and evening bell,
10 And after that the dark!
11And may there be no sadness of farewell,
12 When I embark;
13 For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
14 The flood may bear me far,
15I hope to see my Pilot face to face
16 When I have crost the bar.
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“Crossing the Bar” Summary
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“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”
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Lines 1-2
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me! -
Lines 3-4
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea, -
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. -
Lines 9-12
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark; -
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
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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”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Crossing the Bar” Speaker
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“Crossing the Bar” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Crossing the Bar”
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More “Crossing the Bar” Resources
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External Resources
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A Reading of the Poem — "Crossing the Bar" read by British actor Jasper Britton.
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A Musical Setting — A choral performance of the poem in England's Ely Cathedral.
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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.
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Further Poems and Bio — More poems by Tennyson, and an in-depth biographical discussion.
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A Radio Documentary — A BBC documentary that focuses on Tennyson's most famous poem, "In Memoriam."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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