<P> Tennyson is believed to have written the poem (after suffering a serious illness) while on the sea, crossing the Solent from Aldworth to Farringford on the Isle of Wight . Separately, it has been suggested he may have written it on a yacht anchored in Salcombe . "The words", he said, "came in a moment". Shortly before he died, Tennyson told his son Hallam to "put' Crossing the Bar' at the end of all editions of my poems". </P> <P> The poem contains four stanzas that generally alternate between long and short lines . Tennyson employs a traditional ABAB rhyme scheme . Scholars have noted that the form of the poem follows the content: the wavelike quality of the long - then - short lines parallels the narrative thread of the poem . </P> <P> The extended metaphor of "crossing of bar" represents traveling serenely and securely from life through death . The Pilot is a metaphor for God, whom the speaker hopes to meet face to face . Tennyson explained, "The Pilot has been on board all the while, but in the dark I have not seen him...(He is) that Divine and Unseen Who is always guiding us ." </P> <P> The words have been set to music by Sir Hubert Parry, Sir Joseph Barnby and Dr. George Hewson, organist at St Patrick's Cathedral Dublin . </P>

Who is the pilot in crossing the bar