Elegy for my Father who is not Dead

The central purpose (question 6) of this poem is to contrast two possible concepts of death and the possibility of a life after. First, there is the father, who takes an optimistic approach to this entire concept. He is fully prepared to die. This stems from his belief that there is an afterlife where he will see his son and all of his loved ones. Therefore, he has the mentality that this current life is not all that there is, and he has no trouble letting go of it. He is sure that he will see his son again after he, too, passes away, which is evident from the boat analogy. The father will be there to welcome his son, just as the son was there to send off the father. However, the son takes a different approach. He is not at all ready to lose his father. This stems from his own belief that there is not anything after life, or at least not an afterlife that involves a reunion of friends and family. Rather, he views death as the end all be all, the final curtain, end of the line, [insert cliché here]. He is not ready for his father's life to end, because he believes that life is all there is to existence, and once it's over, one ceases to exist. This is evident in his belief of the ship analogy, in that the ship does not reach some nice pleasant shore, but simply sinks, and is no more. This contrast between the father's views and the son's views ultimately serves to contrast the afterlife concept of most major religions with the world-based view of atheism.

But more importantly, "End of the Line" is totally a Metallica song, and I'd say it's about time we put them up on that playlist.

Metallica ruuules

Crossing the Bar

This poem, yet another in the long line of poems about dying, evokes a particularly strong tone (Question 8). First, the speaker makes clear his metaphor between crossing a sandbar and dying with the line "may there be no moaning of the bar when I put out to sea." The speaker here is requesting that nobody cry or mourn his passing, thus giving the general impression that the speaker is not upset about his death, but rather views it as a happy occasion, and doesn't want anyone else to mourn his death. This point is reinforced by the line "May there be no sadness of farewell when I embark." However, the poem takes on a deeper tone with the line "When that which drew from out the boundless deep turns again home." The speaker adds a bit of a religious element to his attitued by essentially stating that the afterlife is his true home, and that he is only returning to where he belongs. Yet another line to reinforce this religious attitude is "I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crossed the bar." The term "hope" in this line could have a potentially ambiguous meaning, but because of the strongly established tone of religiously-based optimism, the word takes on the very clear meaning of strong desire. The speaker does not just view death in a positive light, but it is his ultimate desire. He wants, above all else, to return home and see God.

I like sailing....