Crossing the Bar

Why do you think that the poet has used the word “Pilot” to refer to God in the poem ‘Crossing the
Bar’? Give reasons to support your answer.

In his well- known poem ‘Crossing the bar’, Lord Tennyson speaks about a man’s final journey from
life to death. He compares this journey to a sea- voyage. The bar is the barrier between life and
death, the unseen demarcation line that separates this world from the next. Just as a man
embarking on a sea- voyage needs to cross the sand bar that separated the harbour from the sea, so
does a man have to break through the invisible boundary that separates life from death. The vast,
uncharted, unfathomable ocean is an appropriate metaphor for the mysterious passage from life to
death. The journey will take a man beyond the limits of ‘space and time’ to the land of the great
unknown.

 The poet wants to see his ‘Pilot face to face’. The word Pilot begins with a capitol letter to
indicate that it hints at God - ‘that Divine and unseen who is always guiding us’. Here God is
depicted as a qualified mariner who will steer the ship out of the harbour and through the
troubled waters of the sea. Meeting God and beholding Him face to face is the poet’s
cherished desire. By symbolising God as a pilot, the poet wants to say that one should keep
faith in God who guides the destiny of a human being. God protects and looks after us
through His Divine presence. God is not visible to us while we are shrouded in our perishable
bodies. We can see Him only in the afterlife.

The poem begins with the phrase ‘sunset and evening star’. A little later we come across ‘Twilight
and evening bell’. These phrases depict the transitional period between the day and the night. They
mark the end of the day and the beginning of the night. Through these imageries, the poet refers to
the stage between life and death, the end of this earthly life and the beginning of another life after
death.

The poet goes on to say that he has heard the ‘clear call’ summoning him to leave this life and
embark on a journey into the land of the great unknown. His advice is that no one is to weep or shed
tears when he puts ‘out to sea’ or leaves this world for the next.

The poet hopes that the ocean will not make the mournful sound of waves beating against the sand
bar when he sets out to sea. He wishes for a calm and peaceful death. He wishes for a tide that is so
full that it cannot contain sound or foam and therefore appears to be asleep when all that has been
carried from the boundless depth of the ocean returns to it. He means to say that our immortal soul
needs to go back to God from whom it has come.

The poet states that the evening bell announces the end of the day and also the departure of a
person from this life. This will be followed by darkness. There should be no sadness of farewell when
he departs because he is going to meet his Pilot ie., God face to face. Everything does not end with
death. Death is a new beginning.