Travel theme in O Captain! by Whitman! My Captain! and Tennyson's Crossing the Bar. The theme of a journey is a common metaphor used in poetry. This is no exception in two poems by famous poets of the 19th century: Walt Whitman and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In Whitman's poem “O Captain! My Captain!" from his collection Leaves of Grass, writes of grief over a fallen ship's captain entering home port. Lord Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar" expresses hopes at the departure of a voyage. Both poems use the metaphor of a boat's journey on the sea as a spiritual journey towards death. The poems have many similarities, but also differences that give character to each poem. Each poem is shaped by its imagery, its speaker and its emotional invocation such literary devices, the poems would not have such an emotional impact on the reader. Let it be “O Captain! My Captain!” and "Crossing the Bar" are similar in their themes of a journey. In Whitman's poem, a ship's crew is returning to their home port from a long voyage. All is over, with the purpose of the expedition completed, except their captain falls dead on the ship's deck. The speaker describes the celebrations on the shore as the boat arrives, the joyful citizens celebrating the return of their captain. This contrasts with the somber atmosphere of the ship, where the crew deeply mourns the loss of their captain. In “Crossing the Bar,” the speaker is about to go on a trip, from which he expects not to return. He hopes his journey won't be difficult, especially when he leaves for the first time. He begs the reader not to cry or protest his departure. While these are both trips, there are key differences. Whitman deals with the sad return from a journey, while Lord Tennyson writes about the final exit from a life. While the speaker in "O Captain!" appeals that his captain is not dead, the speaker in "Crossing the Bar!" it almost implores the exact opposite. He says in lines 11-12 “And may there be no sadness in farewell, when I embark;” He is content to leave the life he has known, to embark on this final journey to see his “Pilot”..