Crossing the Bar

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1889 · 1 perc olvasás · 16 sor

Röviden

“Crossing the Bar” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson is a poem about approaching death through the image of a voyage out to sea. It begins with sunset, an evening star, and a clear call that signals the speaker’s departure. The speaker wishes for a quiet crossing of the bar, imagining a tide so full and calm that it seems asleep. Water returning to the deep makes departure seem like a movement toward home. Twilight, an evening bell, and darkness then bring the journey closer, while the speaker asks that farewell bring no sadness. The final stanza looks beyond the limits of time and place toward the hope of meeting the Pilot face to face after the crossing.

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 deepTurns again home.

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

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and PlaceThe flood may bear me far,I hope to see my Pilot face to faceWhen I have crost the bar.

Mit jelent, sorról sorra?

1–4. sor: Sunset and the evening star place the speaker at the end of a day, suggesting the end of life. A clear call makes departure feel personal and definite. The speaker wishes for no mournful sound from the bar, the barrier at the sea’s edge that must be crossed.

5–8. sor: The speaker imagines a tide moving so smoothly that it appears asleep, without noisy waves or foam. The movement from the deep and back home presents departure as a return rather than simply a loss. This calm water gives the hoped-for crossing a peaceful feeling.

9–12. sor: Twilight deepens toward darkness, and an evening bell adds sound to the scene. These details make the ending feel closer. The speaker repeats the earlier wish for peace, now asking that the human act of saying goodbye be free of sadness when the journey begins.

13–16. sor: The voyage now reaches beyond ordinary time and place, making its connection to death clearer. Although the flood may carry the speaker far away, the ending rests on hope rather than certainty. The capitalized Pilot suggests a divine guide whom the speaker hopes to meet directly after crossing.

3 hónapig ingyen

200 000+ klasszikus. Minden formátumban, ingyenes kezdéssel.

e-könyvek és 15 perces összefoglalók, valamint bármely könyv önköltségi áron nyomtatva, nagybetűs kiadásban is.

Kezdd ingyenÉvente megújul · Bármikor lemondhatod

Három elgondolkodtató kérdés

How do the sunset, twilight, and darkness shape the poem’s movement toward its ending?
What does the image of water returning home suggest about the speaker’s view of death?
How does the hope of meeting the Pilot affect the mood of the final stanza?

3 hónapig ingyen

200 000+ klasszikus. Minden formátumban, ingyenes kezdéssel.

e-könyvek és 15 perces összefoglalók, valamint bármely könyv önköltségi áron nyomtatva, nagybetűs kiadásban is.

Kezdd ingyenÉvente megújul · Bármikor lemondhatod

Következő versOde to the West WindShelley · 2 perc olvasás