“ The Eagle ” Analysis

1. “The Eagle” Analysis • Alfred (Lord) Tennyson

2. The Eagle He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.

3. Literal Meaning and Theme Words I don’t know … azure (ˈæʒə, -ʒʊə, ˈeɪ-) —n: 1. a deep blue, occasionally somewhat purple, similar to the colour of a clear blue sky: 2. poetic a clear blue sky; Literally, the poet describes a natural setting - mountains overlooking a sea; Diction - simple, evocative vocabulary; Title - simple, refers to bird of prey Allusion - Icarus myth (hubris - failed ambition) The Eagle BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.

4. Literal Meaning and Theme • Title also a particular symbol - eagle: king of birds, powerful, dominant, iconic; • Tone (see web page) • - the speaker uses a sincere, reverent, solemn tone - “ring’d” implies deity (halo) and therefore reverent tone; “his” mountain denotes regal posture and control. • Structure, Sound and Rhythm • - diction implies movement or change • - two stanzas; rhyming triplets; first stanza’s focus - ending: “he stands”; second stanza: “he falls”. taken in isolation: he clasps; he stands / he watches; he falls. • lines are ‘end stopped’ though punctuation does not end each line. (enjambment). Enjambment, can produce a sense of urgency or anxiousness. • Incomplete syntax is called, the rejet. • iambic tetrameter (4) • - alliteration - both assonance and consonance The Eagle BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.

5. Literal Meaning and Theme • Language and Imagery • effective use of adjectives: crooked, lonely, azure, wrinkled, mountain: weighted to images of aging or imperfection of form or spirit. • these produce images a juxtaposition of the symbol of an eagle (strength, power) with emotions relating to reality, normalcy. • simile: “like a thunderbolt …” • personification: crooked hands; wrinkled sea crawls • two stanzas and related diction implies movement or change The Eagle BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.