Tennyson's Epiphany

I first heard the word epiphany in a British literature class while attending the University of Missouri. The professor explained that an epiphany is a moment of truth, that instant when new understanding overtakes and recreates one's thought process. It happened to Tennyson.

For years, Tennyson had grappled with the untimely death of his dearest friend. A plethora of poetry documented Tennyson's struggle with human mortality. But his lifelong search for meaning in the midst of mortality came in an instant. The same man who, in his early twenties, had penned "In Memoriam," a 2900-line poem of bereavement, wrote "Crossing the Bar" - at the age of 80.

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.

For tho' from out the 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.

(From Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar" - stanzas 1 & 4)

Though it had taken nearly sixty years, Tennyson's epiphany had finally come. After a serious illness while at sea, Tennyson said the words came to him in a moment. At his own request, this poem is always published at the end of any collection of Tennyson's poetry.

We all have questions that needle the soul. And sometimes we wrestle with those questions for a very long time. Tennyson proves what every person of faith believes. If you seek without giving up, you will find God - the greatest epiphany of all.

Tennyson's Epiphany