"The Eagle" by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Fragment

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.

Title: The title is specific to a single eagle. It isn’t “An Eagle,” but rather “The Eagle.” The

poem is about one specific bird. Eagles often are seen as majestic and powerful yet graceful.

Paraphrase: The eagle is on a cliff, high in the sky. The sea is moving below him and he

watches it from his perch. Then he falls.

Devices: The rhyme scheme of this poem is AAABBB, with all the lines in each stanza

rhyming. Despite the shift in rhyme, however, the poem is given a sense of continuity due to the fact that there are eight syllables in each line. This makes the poem very uniform and gives it a constant rhythm and flow. It makes me think of the soaring of an eagle, even though this one is perched the whole time. Each line of the poem, excluding the last one, has either assonance or alliteration. Because the last line lacks this trait, it is set apart. Its tone is different from the rest of the poem as well—it is more abrupt and features direct action—separating it even more from the rest of the poem. The first line of the poem has dissonance as well, setting up the scene as something unapproachable, like the eagle is too far away to really connect with. The eagle is like an old man, with his “crooked hands.” The sea, too, is described as a person as “wrinkled” like an old man and crawling like an infant. The comparison of the eagle to a thunderbolt connotes power and something of a surprise. 

Attitude: The speaker just seems to be observing this eagle. This observation is with some

reverence. The speaker notes the majesty, patience and power of the eagle as it stands aloft looking at the world.

Shifts: The first shift takes place between the first and second stanzas. The first stanza is

describing the eagle from some other viewer’s perspective. Some onlooker with their binoculars is describing what this eagle looks like to their friend. Then, there is another shift before the last line. Prior to this shift, the poem is from the eagle’s perspective, looking at the sea below him and him sitting, watching from his mountain wall. However, the last line is a little different, because it describes what the onlookers have been waiting for this eagle to do. It describes his action of diving—a more extreme action.

Title: The title of this poem really is just what the poem is about: an eagle. This eagle is

being observed and is observing his surroundings. He’s good at clinging to rocks, and at diving, probably for food. No where else in the poem is the word “eagle” mentioned, so this title is necessary in order for the reader to know what the poem is about. Also part of the title is the word “fragment,” which apparently means that it was never finished because the topic was too complex to go into complete detail on.

Theme/Total Meaning: A theme of this poem is that humans and nature are connected,

but not one. The eagle is obviously out of reach of anyone watching it, but they are still able to witness its majesty and be part of its journey from rock to sea. They are still able to be inspired by his strength and composure.