Crossing the Bar

I think that Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem Crossing the Bar is both literal and symbolic. The speaker in the poem begins with explanation of embarking on a journey in a ship. He expresses desire for a high tide so that his ship will effortlessly "cross the bar", which is referring to a sandbar. His journey could also be symbolic of death. There are several parts of the poem that I think might suggest this, like that he feels he is being called on the journey. Also, he says For though from out our bourne of, Time and Place, The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my pilot face to face, When I have crossed the bar". This means that though he may travel beyond time and space, he retains hope that he might meet his "pilot". To me, this clearly means death. Theist line of "when I have crossed the bar" further emphasizes death because he is speaking of a new period, time, and place. He is referring to the crossing from a world of life to that of death. He sees death as a journey that will call him out to unexpected and unadvertised new things.