Crossing the Bar
E281193
"Crossing the Bar" is a short, reflective poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that meditates on death and the soul’s peaceful passage into the afterlife.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Crossing the Bar canonical | 2 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
elegy
ⓘ
lyric poem ⓘ poem ⓘ |
| author | Alfred, Lord Tennyson ⓘ |
| authorNationality | British ⓘ |
| character | the Pilot ⓘ |
| commemoration | often read at funerals ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| firstLine | Sunset and evening star ⓘ |
| form | four stanzas ⓘ |
| genre |
Victorian poetry
ⓘ
meditative poetry ⓘ religious poetry ⓘ |
| imagery | nautical imagery ⓘ |
| influence | widely anthologized in English literature collections ⓘ |
| interpretation |
death is portrayed as a peaceful crossing
ⓘ
speaker expresses readiness for death ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| lineCount | 16 ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | Victorian literature ⓘ |
| metaphor |
sandbar as boundary between life and afterlife
ⓘ
sea voyage as death ⓘ |
| meter | mixed iambic meter ⓘ |
| publicationPeriod | late 19th century ⓘ |
| refrain |
And may there be no moaning of the bar
ⓘ
I hope to see my Pilot face to face ⓘ |
| religiousContext | Christian ⓘ |
| rhymeScheme | ABAB in each stanza ⓘ |
| setting | sea at sunset ⓘ |
| stanzaCount | 4 ⓘ |
| subjectMatter | the soul’s passage into the afterlife ⓘ |
| symbolism |
Pilot symbolizes God or Christ
ⓘ
bar symbolizes the boundary between life and death ⓘ |
| theme |
acceptance of death
ⓘ
afterlife ⓘ death ⓘ faith ⓘ hope ⓘ meeting God ⓘ spiritual journey ⓘ transition from life to death ⓘ |
| tone |
calm
ⓘ
contemplative ⓘ reverent ⓘ serene ⓘ |
| writer | Alfred, Lord Tennyson ⓘ |
| writtenBy | Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Alfred Tennyson