SECTION D: NON-AFRICAN POETRY
How does the poet present death as a voyage in “Crossing the Bar”?
Explanation
In the poem, death is presented as the end of life on and the start of man’s return to his maker. The metaphor of a voyage appropriately describes this transition.
The symbols marking the end of life are “sunset and evening star”. These constitute “one clear call for me”. Thus, the persona knows when his life has come to an end and he needs only to embark gladly on the voyage home. Death, therefore, is not to be feared.
The barrier between the mortal world and the world of eternity is the human body. This is represented by sand bar. At death, one’s spirit leaves the mortal and is free to go “home”. Without death, the spirit is not freed to set off. This makes death inevitable.
Death is described as the final extinguishing of e light of life. It is when the light is gone that le sets out to board the eternity-bound vessel. his is captured succinctly as:
“Twilight and evening bell
And after that the dark!”
The symbols appropriately echo the earlier Isymbols, marking the end of life:
“Sunset and evening start
And one clear call for me!”
The certainty of death and the obvious final signposts are clearly put down in the poem. After death, the spirit is transported across the waves as it turns again home”. On crossing the bar, the spirit passenger boards the ship and must introduced to the Captain, that is, “see my pilot face to face”.
The prospect of death and actually dying are not frightful, sorrowful or regrettable. They are all in the scheme of our mortality. As for the persona, he can take these in his stride. However, his experience has been that survivors do mourn for the dead. This is not necessary. He urges survivors of the dead thus:
“And may there be no sadness of farewell When I embark.”
His hope, which is almost a certainty, is that, when he has “crost the bar” (died), he will be quite safe meeting his “Pilot” who will take him to his destination, however far it is and however long the voyage lasts.
Through effective metaphors and imagery, death is presented as the inevitable close of the chapter of living on earth and the opening of the way “again home”.