I'm on a Boat

I am impressed by Alfred, Lord Tennyson's attitude toward death in "Crossing the Bar". The speaker of the poem describes death as an extremely peaceful and serene event, akin to a boat being "put out to sea". The speaker seeks "no moaning" and "no sadness of farewell when [he] embark[s]" in death. In the speaker's opinion, death is not a depressing occasion, but rather is a gentle, pleasant event. The speaker's reason for his happy acceptance of death is explained near the end of the poem: when the speaker dies, he "hope[s] to see [his] Pilot"--i.e., God--"face to face". This unwavering belief in life after death is rather astounding. It is quite easy to simply say that one believes in life after death; it is quite another to believe in it so firmly as to write an entire poem--complete with extended metaphor--about life after death. More than anything, Tennyson's faith struck me the most in this poem; his faith is an excellent example to those, including myself, who struggle at times to accept those ideas which are difficult to logically believe.