The Eagle by Alfred Lord Tennyson

1. The Eagle by Alfred Lord Tennyson F Slide 3 contains link to audio recording of the poem

2. Key terms: Rhyming triplets Personification Alliteration Assonance Iambic/trochaic metre Point of view Themes: Natural power Natural/animal beauty Unspoilt natural beauty Frailty The Eagle by Alfred Lord Tennyson F

3. The Eagle: Content/meaning What is this stanza saying? What is the eagle doing? He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring’d with the azure world, he stands. What is the poem talking about? The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. What is this stanza saying? What is the eagle doing? What does the eagle do in this line/what happens to it? F

4. The Eagle: Form and Strucutre Which syllables are stressed (have a ‘heavy’ beat) in each line? He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring’d with the azure world, he stands. Which point of view is each stanza told from. Imagine filming the scene described The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. What is the effect of the change of view point? Rhyming triplets; showing the eagle and the natural world are in _________ F

5. The Eagle: Language Find the alliteration and assonance. What does it suggest about the eagle and its surroundings? Crag means rock He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Holds on tight, suggesting ownership? This is an example of __________. What does it suggest about the eagle? F

6. The Eagle: Language Near to heaven? Making the eagle a god-like figure? He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring’d with the azure world, he stands. Heraldic term for blue -> Heraldry links to nobility; is the poet stressing the nobility of the eagle? Still, comfortable and calm in his lonely world What could this mean? F

7. The Eagle: Language What does crawls suggest? Think about height and power. Why would the sea look ‘wrinkled’? Think about point of view. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. Ownership implies power Walls of the cliff, makes it sound like a building/home. The Eagle is a home in its surroundings F

8. The Eagle: Language What device is used here? like What are the connotations of this word? God-like power Natural power (destructive and beautiful) And like a thunderbolt he falls. 2 possible meanings Swooping down to hunt. The predator. An example of nature’s power. Falling down dead. An example of nature’s frailty and the circle of life F

9. Summary • Tell your partner what the poem is about. “The key message of this poem could be seen as…” F

10. Summary • Go for language, structure or form points • Explain them to your partner “An interesting feature in this poem is…this suggests…” F

11. What poems could you compare this with? GC: Difficult Birth, Field mouse SH: Perch, Death of a Naturalist, Storm on the Island Pre1914: Inversnaid Key Themes Natural power Natural/animal beauty Unspoilt natural beauty Frailty What could you add to this list? Summary F