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    Tennyson, through his poem, “Crossing the Bar”, urges people not to fear death. He is in favour of accepting death throughout the poem. He says that in order to meet God face-to-face, one has to cross the boundary between life and death. Death is a natural phenomenon and God’s love can be attained oRead more

    Tennyson, through his poem, “Crossing the Bar”, urges people not to fear death. He is in favour of accepting death throughout the poem. He says that in order to meet God face-to-face, one has to cross the boundary between life and death. Death is a natural phenomenon and God’s love can be attained only in the afterlife.

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    The metaphor of “crossing the bar” represents the serene journey from life through death. It denotes to the transition from life to death. Read summary of Crossing the Bar

    The metaphor of “crossing the bar” represents the serene journey from life through death. It denotes to the transition from life to death.

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    The tone of the poem is that of a calm and composed one, accepting and embracing death. Instead of fearing death, the tone reflects upon the complacency of death as natural. Read summary of Crossing the Bar

    The tone of the poem is that of a calm and composed one, accepting and embracing death. Instead of fearing death, the tone reflects upon the complacency of death as natural.

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    The moral lesson of the poem is that we should never fear or mourn death as it is a natural process. In order to meet the creator, God, face-to-face, we have to accept death calmly and cross the boundary between life and death. Read summary of Crossing the Bar

    The moral lesson of the poem is that we should never fear or mourn death as it is a natural process. In order to meet the creator, God, face-to-face, we have to accept death calmly and cross the boundary between life and death.

    Read summary of Crossing the Bar

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    In the poem “Crossing the Bar”, crossing the bar actually means the transition from life to death. The poet wanted to symbolize the final journey everyone has to face. One has to cross the bar of their life to reach the afterlife and finally meet the “Pilot” meaning God. Read summary of Crossing theRead more

    In the poem “Crossing the Bar”, crossing the bar actually means the transition from life to death. The poet wanted to symbolize the final journey everyone has to face. One has to cross the bar of their life to reach the afterlife and finally meet the “Pilot” meaning God.

    Read summary of Crossing the Bar

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  1. Crossing the bar is a poem written by Alfred Tennyson in 1830. The main theme in “Crossing the Bar” is the acceptance of death. Death is an inevitable transition. We are born, live, and die, and this life is but a small part of the universe’s great cycle. Our birth and death are but the beginning anRead more

    Crossing the bar is a poem written by Alfred Tennyson in 1830. The main theme in “Crossing the Bar” is the acceptance of death. Death is an inevitable transition. We are born, live, and die, and this life is but a small part of the universe’s great cycle. Our birth and death are but the beginning and end of a long, long journey. In the poem “Crossing the bar”, the speaker is on a voyage to the other world. He believes that he is going to his eternal home which is a reunion with his creator.

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  1. A Grammarian's Funeral written by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue i.e. a kind of poem in which only a single person speaks while all others remain passive listeners and do not say any word. The story always begins at a critical stage. In the poem, the story begins with the death of the GrammRead more

    A Grammarian’s Funeral written by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue i.e. a kind of poem in which only a single person speaks while all others remain passive listeners and do not say any word. The story always begins at a critical stage. In the poem, the story begins with the death of the Grammarian whose corpse is being taken to the mountain for burial.

    In the poem, the speaker is a disciple of the grammarian and while moving to the mountains keep telling about his life and how he dedicated himself to studying. He gave up all the joys of life and did not go after short-term money. He believed that he should learn and then enjoy life after death.

    The narrator (disciple) keeps telling how he was a man of high thinking and had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. The disciple then compares his master with people having low thinking.

    Though the disciple keeps telling the good things about his master, he reveals how the grammarian ruined his life because of excessive reading. He lost his youth quickly and was attacked by all types of diseases. However, he still did not give up reading and kept acquiring knowledge till his last breath.

    On the way, the disciple keeps giving instructions to his fellows which keeps us in touch with what is happening physically. The funeral finally reached the top of the mountain where they want to bury the grammarian. He utters final words in the praise of grammarian and along with others go back.

    Note that, this poem as a dramatic monologue throws light on the character and thinking of the grammarian as well as that of the disciple himself.

    This poem is quite ironic because though the grammarian is a hero for disciples, the poet seems to be criticizing him for wasting his life. Through the words of the disciple, the poet reveals how the grammarian ruined his life and missed the joys of youth. He could not enjoy the taste of life and the art of God. He did not do anything for society. He learned for himself and died with it.

    It did not yield any fruit. In the end, he was taken by his disciples for burial (again an ironic situation).

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