Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
Crossing the Bar
Sunset and evening star,
And 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 deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The food may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
CROSSING THE BAR
Author: Alfred Tennyson
Title of work: Crossing the bar
Year of publication: 1889
The Victorian Era of Great Britain is considered the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. It is often defined as the years from 1837 to 1901, when Queen Victoria (often referred to as the greatest and most beloved of all the British monarchs) reigned, though many historians believe that the passage of the Reform Act 1832 marks the true inception of a new cultural era. The Victorian era was preceded by the Regency era and came before the Edwardian period. Victoria also had one of the longest, if not the longest, reigns in British history. The Victorian Period
Politics
The period is ostensibly characterized as a long period of peace and economic, colonial, and industrial consolidation , temporarily disrupted by the Crimean War, although Britain was at war every year during this period. Towards the end of the century, the policies of New Imperialism led to increasing colonial conflicts and eventually the Boer Wars. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of gradual political reform and the widening of the franchise. The Victorian Period
In the early part of the era the House of Commons was dominated by the two parties, the Whigs and the Tories. From the late 1850s onwards the Whigs became the Liberals. Many prominent statesmen led one or other of the parties, including Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Derby, Lord Palmerston, William Ewart Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury. The unsolved problems relating to Ireland played a great part in politics in the later Victorian era, particularly in view of Gladstone's determination to achieve a political settlement. . The Victorian Period
In January 1858, the Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, responded to the Orsini plot against French emperor Napoleon III, the bombs for which were purchased in Birmingham, by attempting to make such acts a felony, but the resulting uproar forced him to resign. The Victorian Period
In July 1866, an angry crowd in London, protesting Russell's resignation as prime minister, was barred from Hyde Park by the police; it tore down iron railings and trampled the flower beds. Disturbances like this convinced Derby and Disraeli of the need for further parliamentary reform. . The Victorian Period
During 1875 Britain purchased Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal as the African nation was forced to raise money to pay off its debts.
In 1882 Egypt became a protectorate of Great Britain after British troops occupied land surrounding the Suez Canal in order to secure the vital trade route, and the passage to India. The Victorian Period
In 1884 the Fabian Society was founded in London by a group of middle-class intellectuals, including Quaker Edward Pease, 17, Havelock Ellis, 25, and Edith Nesbit, 26, to promote socialism. George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells would be among many famous names to later join this society.
On Sunday, November 13, 1887, tens of thousands of people, many of them socialists or unemployed, gathered in Trafalgar Square to demonstrate against the government. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Charles Warren ordered armed soldiers and 2,000 police constables to respond. Rioting broke out, hundreds were injured and two people died. This event was referred to as Bloody Sunday. The Victorian Period
Events
In 1851 the Great Exhibition (the first World's Fair) was held in The Crystal Palace, with great success and international attention.
In 1888, the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper murdered and mutilated prostitutes on the streets of London, leading to world-wide press coverage and hysteria. Newspapers used the deaths to bring greater focus on the plight of the unemployed and to attack police and political leaders. The killer was never caught, and the affair contributed to Sir Charles Warren's resignation. The Victorian Period
Science, technology and engineering
Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol
The impetus of the industrial revolution had already occurred, but it was during this period that the full effects of industrialisation made themselves felt, leading to the mass society of the 20th century. The revolution led to the rise of railways across the country and massive leaps forward in engineering, most famously by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
During the Victorian era, science grew into the discipline it is today. In addition to the increasing professionalism of university science, many Victorian gentlemen devoted their time to the study of natural history.
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published in 1859 and had a tremendous effect on the popular mindset.
In 1882, incandescent electric lights were introduced to London streets, although it took many long years before they were installed everywhere. The Victorian Period
ANALYSIS
This poem describes the attitude of acceptance of the speaker towards death.
Now, we will analyze this poem ; in the first stanza the author hears that he is being called, it seems a call from death ( line 2) “ and one clear call for me”, also he is expecting a rising tide that he goes home again. In the third stanza, the author describes his twilight while he is waiting for his death and he hopes no sadness when he dies. In the last stanza, the speaker trusts in confronting the death with bravery, and also he emphasizes this giving a feeling of excitement and curiosity for that which is coming (line 15 & 16) “ I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crossed the bar”.
This poem is an allegory of the road towards death, the sand bar is described as a barrier between life and death; the sea is shown as a destination, and it manages to create a very peaceful feeling, the twilight is seen as a decline in a human life, and the dark as death.
This metaphorical poem is much more spiritual, because it has a great religious sense, we can see it in this sentence ( line 15 & 16) “ I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crossed the bar”; the Pilot can be his guide towards death, an angel or God.
In respect to the structure, the poem is divided in four stanzas which have resemblances, for example: the first stanza begins with : “sunset and evening star” and the third “twilight and evening bell” and both have one line with exclamations ( line2) “and one clear call for me!” and ( line 10) “and after that the dark”
Referring to the rhyme scheme it consists in four quatrain stanzas rhyming ABAB, and the pair lines are shorter than the other ones,and the first and the third stanzas are united to one another as are the second and fourth stanzas.The first and the third stanzas begin with sybols of light "sunset and evening star" and "twillight and evening bell", then , the second line of those stanzas begins with "and"; the third and the fourth stanzas conclude with a wish: (lines 3 & 4) and (lines 11 & 12).
In respect to the vocabulary, we will say, that it is very accessible even having lots of metaphors. It is very clear in understanding.
PERSONAL RESPONSE
I like this poem, because it is a precious allegory of death. The author treats this theme with tactfulness and delicacy. This poem shows the most important feature of Romanticism, the delight for death, which describes through images based on a maritime spot, which creates the sensation of melancholy and sadness but also it creates a feeling of peacefulness which refuses fear and anxiety. The author just feels a kind of yearning because of his meeting with God.
SOURCES
The Victorian period: Victorian_era_Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 7 May 2006 en.http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era
Crossing the Bar : Alfred Tennyson. Poems. 7 May 2006. http://www.poetry-archive.com/t/tennyson-alfred.html