Compare The Poets Attitudes Towards Death In Sonnet 73 And Crossing The Bar.

The poems that are being compared are, ‘Sonnet 73’ written by William Shakespeare in the late 16th century and ‘Crossing The Bar’ written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in the 19th century.

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73, consists of fourteen lines, of which three quatrains and a couplet. Each line holds ten syllables and contributes to a regular line scheme. Shakespeare’s syntax is because of the sonnet, as he has to constrain himself, as there is only a certain amount of syllables he can use in each line. Shakespeare fully utilises the quatrains and couplet, which traditionally form a sonnet. These allow him to shape his three metaphors into each quatrain, narrowing the time span in each, in a process of focusing down to his deceptively simple final couplet. Sonnet 73 is not simply a procession of interchangeable metaphors; it is the story of the speaker slowly coming to grips with the finality of his age and his impermanence in time.

Shakespeare may have written this poem for a close friend as he uses the word, ‘thou’ which indicates that he had known the person very well. The ‘friend’ may have been male as Shakespeare addresses 126 of the 154 sonnets to the male sex. It seems as if Shakespeare wrote this poem to prepare his friend, not for the approaching literal death of his body, but for the metaphorical death of his youth and passion. The poet's deep insecurities swell irrepressibly as he concludes that his friend is now focused only on the signs of his aging, as the poet surely is himself. This is illustrated by the linear development of the three quatrains. The first two quatrains establish what the poet perceives his friend now sees as he looks at the poet, those ‘yellow leaves’ and bare ‘boughs’, and the faint afterglow of the fading sun. The third quatrain reveals that the poet is speaking not of his impending physical death, but the death of his youth and subsequently his youthful desires. The fundamental emotion is self-pity, not an attractive emotion.

Another aspect of the poem is the diminution of the time concept, quatrain by quatrain. We have first a year, and the final season of it; then only a day, and the stretch of it; then just a fire, built for part of the day, and the final minutes of it. The imagery begins and continues as visual - yellow, sunset, glowing - and one by one these are destroyed; but also in the first quatrain one hears sound, which disappears there; and from the couplet, imagery of every kind is excluded, as if the sense were indeed dead. A season seems short enough; yet, ironically the day, and then the fire, makes it in retrospect seem long.

‘Crossing The Bar’ is a contrasting poem also expressing the poet’s feelings about death. It is composed in four stanzas and arranged with an alternating rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme and rhythm reflects the mood of the poem, radiating a sense of calmness with a slow pace. The beauty of the atmosphere, which Tennyson contrives to suffuse over his poetry with inestimable skill and with tact rarely at fault, produces an almost unfailing illusion or mirage of loveliness.

The poem presents an extended metaphor portraying the journey to death as a journey on the sea. The poem associates the journey to death with a boat journey, where the ‘crossing of the bar’ represents the beginning of the long and significant journey to Afterlife.

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The first quatrain of Shakespeare’s sonnet contains a great deal of imagery referring to nature. He compares aging process to the ‘yellow leaves’ of winter when ‘none, or few, do hang.’ Shakespeare, in reality is talking of the physical effects that occur due to old age. Aspects such as the greying of hair, the paleness of skin colour and the wrinkles. From the first quatrain, we immediately grasp the concept of Shakespeare seeing the negative effects of death and we presume he is not looking forward to death itself.

In contrast, Tennyson’s poem starts with a very positive introduction. He talks of his ‘clear call’ - assuming he is referring to his death call and then ‘may there be no moaning of the bar’ – hoping that no one would mourn from him when he is ‘put out to sea,’ referring to his journey on the sea taking him to Afterlife. Thus being an optimistic attitude to death as we can assume that he thinks he is departing to a better place when he encounters death.

Already, via the first verse of each poem, differences and similarities between the two poets opinions to death are noticeable. Each poet is comparing death to nature – Shakespeare compares death to the seasons, whilst Tennyson compares it to a journey on the sea. Otherwise, they have contrasting opinions of death itself. Tennyson welcomes it with opening arms whilst Shakespeare seems to feel apprehension.

In the second quatrain of Shakespeare’s sonnet, the period of time is shorter. The first quatrain began with the late autumn or early winter, but now it has changed to day/night. He describes how he feels of his oncoming death, comparing it to the sunset. This imagery also being used in the first line of Tennyson’s poem – ‘Sunset and evening star.’ Shakespeare writes -

‘In me thou seest the twilight of such day

As after sunset fadeth in the west,

Which is soon extinguished by black night

The image of death that envelops all in rest.’

This is a very personal yet effective response to state of how he sees death in himself. He describes it as that one can only see the dim light that remains in him and following this will be death or metaphorically the ‘black night.’ (‘Black night’ is a metaphor for death itself.) As ‘black night’ closes in around the remaining light of the day, so too does death close in around the poet.

In the second stanza of ‘Crossing The Bar,’ Tennyson imagines death to be like the natural movement of the tide. He also gives reference to the process of evolution (as life began with the sea.) –

‘When that which drew out from out the boundless deep

Turns again home’

The last line of the stanza is yet another metaphor for death as one is going back to where they started.

The second quatrain in Shakespeare’s sonnet and the second stanza in Tennyson’s poem develop further the picture of what each poet sees as death. Via Shakespeare’s quatrain, we can see that when death comes, Shakespeare thinks that all the energy in a person will gradually fade out just as when the sunsets and night will impend. However, in the second stanza of 'Crossing The Bar,' Tennyson is unruffled about the idea of death but just sees it as returning to the place where one started. The huge difference in the second verse of each poem is almost ironic. Shakespeare’s quatrain is so very dramatic, whilst Tennyson’s stanza portrays equanimity and tranquillity.

In the previous quatrains, with each of the metaphors, Shakespeare fails to confront the full scope of his problem: both the metaphor of winter and the metaphor of twilight imply cycles, and impose cyclical motions upon the objects of their metaphors, whereas old age is final. Winter follows spring, but spring will subsequently follow winter; and after the twilight fades, dawn will come again. In human life, however, the fading of warmth and light is not cyclical; youth will not come again for Shakespeare. In the third quatrain, Shakespeare resigns himself to this fact.

In the third quatrain of Sonnet 73, the time span has decreased once again, from once being a season in the first quatrain, to a day in the second quatrain and now a fire in the third. This quatrain however, sheds more light upon the subject of what Shakespeare is writing about. In these four lines, Shakespeare is comparing death to a fire, but not just death, but the death of his youth.

‘In me thou seest the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereupon it must expire,

Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.’

Again, Shakespeare compares death to a visual colour, which eventually fades out. In the previous quatrain it was when the sun set and the black night took over, but in this quatrain, he compares the youth of his death to the glowing embers of a fire which lies upon the ashes remaining from the flame of his youth. The last line of the quatrain is about his youth or metaphorically the fire being consumed by that, which once fed it. The image of the fire consumed by the ashes of its youth is significant both for its brilliant disposition of the past-the ashes of which eventually snuff out the fire, "consumed by that which it was nourished by"--and for the fact that when the fire is extinguished, it can never be lit again.

The third stanza of Tennyson’s poem is parallel to the first stanza. He writes again, of how he hopes that there be no ‘sadness’ when he ‘embarks,’ just like ‘may there be no moaning of the bar,’ in his first stanza. The first line of the third stanza, ‘Twilight and evening bell,’ is open to interpretation, as there are several things it can be judged as to be. The ‘evening bell’ can be a religious aspect as the evening bell signifies a prayer however it can also signify a joyful occasion (the bell chiming many times) opposing to the slow chime of death. Personally, I think the ‘evening bell’ signifies the prayers as it fits in with the content of the poem.

Now that the both poems are near to the end, we are eager to find out the message being conveyed from the last couplet/stanza.

Shakespeare’s sonnet ends with a deceptively simple rhyming couplet –

‘This thou perciev’st which makes thy love more strong,

To love that well which thou must leave ere long.’

The first word of the couplet refers to the demise of the poet’s youth and passion – what has been portrayed throughout the three preceding quatrains. The couplet renews the speaker's plea for the young man's love, urging him to "love well" that which he must soon leave. It is important to note that the couplet could not have been spoken after the first two quatrains alone. No one loves twilight because it will soon be night; instead, they look forward to morning. However, after the third quatrain, in which the speaker makes clear the nature of his "leav[ing] ere long," the couplet is possible, and can be treated as a poignant and reasonable exhortation to the beloved. The universal message, which is being spread, however, is live life to the full - You only get it once so, you had better make the most of it, or even the love of life is stronger, now that death is nearer. In the couplet, the Shakespeare tells his friend that he must perceive these things, and that his love must be strengthened by the knowledge that he will soon be parted from the speaker when the speaker, like the fire, is extinguished by time.

The last stanza of ‘Crossing The Bar’ portrays emotions of hope and faith and is the strongest expression of Tennyson’s feelings.

‘I hope to see my Pilot face to face,
When I have crost the Bar.’

Although he does not know where his journey will take him, his faith is sure and he hopes to meet God, whom he refers to as his ‘Pilot.’ The second line of this last stanza holds a double meaning. ‘The flood may bear me far.’ The first meaning is easier to see as the flood/sea takes the body out to sea. However, the word ‘bear’ refers to the bearers whom carry a body to the grave. Tennyson very cleverly intertwined these two meanings to end his poem.

In conclusion, these two poems compared side-by-side have more similarities than first meet the eye. Both poets compare death to part of a natural cycle alongside darkness. Both poets choose formats, which assist their exposition or limit themselves through the poetic form. Shakespeare’s syntax assists the rhythm of each line and adds to the imagery. On the other hand, Tennyson’s chosen form, even briefer in metrical terms, gives him the opportunity to use one extended metaphor simply yet effectively. The repetition of ideas suggests the ebb and flow of the sea. The poems share the theme of death, but express different attitudes. Tennyson’s poem, ‘Crossing The bar,’ written in his twilight years, states with calm assurance that God will guide us through death, as He has in life. With the great ‘Pilot’ beside us, death is just one more milestone on our journey toward life. Death is but a crossing, and Tennyson reveals that in his work here. In contrast, Shakespeare is not as spiritually inclined as Tennyson and is more concerned with putting life to its best use and enjoying it as long as possible. He includes the ravages of time on one’s physical well being and the mental anguish associated with moving further from youth and closer to death.

Whilst Tennyson welcomes death with opening arms and Shakespeare seems to feel apprehension, Dylan Thomas feels anger toward death, in his poem, ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.’ "Do not go Gentle into that Good Night" is a strong struggle for life, the most important and special gift in the world. The poem is a plea for a fight against death for everyone. The poet asks that everyone try to live a full life and to not give up so easily which can apply to many things and not just death.

There is elegance in the structure, that has perhaps gone largely unnoticed due to the intensity of the anguish and anger that the poem so eloquently records. In Thomas’ "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," he depicts the inevitability of death through repetition and diction. The reiterated ‘rage’ together with the paradoxical ‘good night,’ being the key words in the poem.

In the line "Do not go gentle into that good night," the speaker refers to the night as good. Night replaces death in a metaphoric manner. The reference to that "good night" displays how ‘good,’ death may appear and how easily one attains it. (The latter is true to say as it is clearly how Tennyson feels about death.) This shows the reason the speaker persists for his father to hold on to life and not "go gentle into that good night." Likewise, to "rage against the dying of the light" as the speaker pleads, illustrates a similar appeal by the son. The dying of the light refers to life as a light that shines to prove existence. If the light dies, then the life has ceased to exist.

The poet is the son of a dying father. Line sixteen states "And you, my father,…" thus proving the speaker’s persona. The old man, at his deathbed, receives encouragement with pleads from his son to hold on to life. From here, we can clearly see that Dylan Thomas has a contrasting attitude to death than Tennyson. Tennyson would be grateful for anyone to ‘Cross The Bar,’ and meet his or her ‘Pilot.’ This is not how Thomas feels, however, in the last stanza, the son as well as the father accepts death as a part of living.

Furthermore, the repetitious last lines serve to strengthen the speaker’s thoughts. ‘Rage rage against the dying of the light’ and ‘Do not go gentle into that good night.’ The final stanza combines the last lines from the odd and even-numbered stanzas for an additional line. This portrays the ongoing war between life and death. The old man went back and forth between life and death as the stanzas’ last lines switched back and forth. This poem, in villanelle form, artfully implies the universal theme of death’s inevitability.

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