The Eagle by Tennyson
The Eagle by Tennyson , A Model Essay Type Answer
Writing essay type answers to Literature in English question paper at the examinations.
Written by bunPeiris.
Notes and Comments at the end are solely for the purpose of making you grasp a possible format.
Question:
The poem entitled, “”The Eagle”, seems to carry a deeper meaning that irrespective of the fame and fortune of a man, he cannot escape from the phenomenon of impermanence in this word. [BUNP1] Discuss[BUNP2]
The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Answer:
True to the title, the poet focuses on a single eagle perched on a mountain top overlooking the sea far deep down. In his description of the eagle, by means of literary devices, the poet brings forth visual imagery of the eagle. Still more, at the same time the poet succeeds in intimating the reader with the enviable strengths of the eagle[BUNP3] with this very brief poem, even though it seems like a fragment instead of a complete poem. But then again, in addition to the illustration of the surface meaning of masculine virtues of physical strengths of the eagle, in a single line in the end, the poet seems to take the reader by surprise, with a literary device of volta [turn] by way of implying the sudden demise of once all-powerful eagle, presenting the reader with a deeper meaning that irrespective of the fame and fortune of a man, he cannot escape from the phenomenon of all consuming impermanence in this word.[BUNP4]
The poem begins with the pronoun, “he” referring to the eagle thereby intimating the reader with the poet’s love of the bird. The noun, “crag” intimates the reader that the eagle is perched on a location not accessible to other beings including humans since a crag is part of a cliff that juts precariously out from the many body of the mountain. It reminds the reader of the eagle’s strength in reaching locations far and wide and then clasping a jagged end and standing firm and upright. Giving recognition to its paws with the phrase, “crooked hands”, the poet humanizes the eagle furthermore. Moreover, the use of the noun “hands” and the verb “stands”, both being projections of human qualities, the poet seems to imply that the nature ought to be described with reference to human, since he symbolizes a version of microcosm of the universe. While by way the hyperbole, “close to the sun”, the poet seems to imply the eagle’s strength in flying high, the phrase “lonely land” suggests distant lands that are not accessible to a solitary bird. Still more, the phrase, “ringed with azure world”, and the verb “stands”, the eagle is presented as a singular creature of majesty that is able to live steadfast in grandeur though in solitude. [BUNP5] He is alone in his grandeur, with the sun and the bright and deep blue sky forming a perfect background scenery.[BUNP6]
The facts that the lonely eagle watching from the walls of mountain that are not accessed by any other creatures and its gaze at the rolling and roaring sea waves far deep down that can be seen only as “wrinkles” that can only “crawl” also reveal its strength in terms of long distance eye sight. [BUNP7] Such is the strength and splendor of the eagle.
The last two words of the second and final stanza, i.e. “he falls” echo the last two words of the first stanza, i.e. “he stands”. Most of all, particularly significant is the inverted syntax, a syntactic arrangement, i.e. the placement of adverbial phrase [*1], the longest element in the initial position of the last two lines of each stanza brings in a sense of finality in terms of rhetoric. [*2] Parallelism [*3] of these two sentences [a and b] provides rhythm while it expands the scope of description and creates balance.[BUNP8]
| Regular sentence pattern | Poet’s inverted syntax [inversion]. It is a structural technique [*4] | |
| a | He stands ringed with the azure world. | Ringed with the azure world, he stands. |
| b | He falls like a thunderbolt. | And like a thunderbolt, he falls. |
As if all those literary techniques would not suffice, the last line of the poem takes the reader by surprise. In spite of its strength and splendor, the eagle does not dive into the sea to catch its prey that it has been waiting to surface for a moment. It falls. Having admired the bird for all its grandeur and splendor, the poet with the simile “like a thunderbolt” gives notice of the sudden death of the bird as that of a soldier that falls in battle.
With the word “falls”, the poet, making use of the literary device of volta [turn] brings in the sudden demise of once all-powerful eagle, who once lived in great splendor and grandeur, reminding the reader with the inevitable death that follows all living beings. It is in such a stream of poetics that the poem “The Eagle”, seems to carry a deeper meaning that irrespective of the fame and fortune of a man, he cannot escape from the phenomenon of impermanence in this word.[BUNP9]
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Additional notes on Language Features discussed in the essay type answer
[*1] An adverbial phrase is a group of words that together behave as an adverb modifying a verb, adjective or other adverbs and phrases.
[*2] Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploration of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
[*3] Parallelism is the repetition of grammatical elements in writing and speaking. Parallelism influences the grammatical structure of sentences but can also impact the meaning of thoughts and ideas being presented.
Examples:
[i] “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong stepping on to the Moon on 16th July 1969.
[ii] Into the valley, through the marsh, rode the hunting pair.
[*4] Structural techniques are one of the three language features. The other two are Language Techniques and Literary Devices. In every language, the structural highlights are important. They mainly focus on detailing the structure of the language. A language will lose its significance if it is not structured appropriately. Even a simple sentence without a legitimate structure will also be meaningless. On an easy note, a language structure can be defined as the order of ideas in a text.
Inversion, also known as “anastrophe,” is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed, in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter.
Inversion is common when a sentence begins with an adverb phrase.
Example:
“Powerful you have become. The dark side I sense in you.” Yoda of Star Wars
On the window sill were her two cats, Penny and Bonny.
Literary devices: literary techniques and literary elements
[a] Literary Techniques
The literary techniques are the figurative language used by writers for narration. It is nothing but the figures of speech that generally the authors or writers who are involved in creating poems or any other form of literary works use. Examples are Simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole and personification.
[b] Literary Elements
To develop a literary piece, the writer uses literary elements such setting, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion
Above are simply additional notes for you to follow the above answer closely.
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Following [ A, B & C] are for your literature studies in the university
[A] A secondary source for the literature studies at the university.
It is believed the poem entitled “The Eagle” implies the demise of poet’s beloved Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam who succumbed to a cerebral hemorrhage in Vienna at the age of 22. While the poem “The Eagle” seems a just a fragment with six lines, Tennyson’s “In Memoriam A.H.H.”, a requiem that consists of 2,916 lines written over a period of 17 years [1833- 1850], is widely considered to be one of the greatest poems of the 19th century.
[B] An advanced technique in the poem
Tennyson’s employment of sound effect is especially striking. The first line, “He clasps the crag with crooked hands” showcases the dominance of plosive [explosive] sound of /k/occurring four times in clasps /klɑːsps/, crag /kraɡ/ and crooked /ˈkrʊkɪd/. Pronunciation of plosive sounds requiring greater muscular strength in the human vocal chords, they may suggest the strength of the eagle, thereby reinforcing the meaning expressed by the wording of the line.
[C] Secondary sources
Greek mythology tells us that the father of gods, Zeus, once released two eagles: one headed west and the other east. Following their circumnavigation, the two met over a crag on a cliff at Delphi, where the Greeks would visit to consult on their conflicts and possible solutions including outcome of wars [eg. Saving Athenins from all conquering Persians by ambushing their mighty navel force at Straights of Salamis–Histories by Herodotus], expeditions [eg. The Sea, the Sea by Xenophon], Plagues [eg. tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles] and even the theft of a mattress. Perhaps the eagles, with their all-seeing eyes, having seen the matters all round the world, their location would have been blessed with powers to predict future since after all, the history repeats.
[BUNP1]
[1]You may agree or disagree on this statement. You are free to express your idea/point of view/perspective. To put it simply, please feel free to write what you think on your own. Express what you perceive, what you make out of the poem. But make sure you support your perspective with the evidence from the text, i.e. herein it’s the poem, “The Eagle”, the primary resource. In OL/AL, you may confine your evidence strictly to your text in question. It is your personal response that would earn you marks.
[2]Refrain from bringing supporting evidence from other sources, i.e. other texts or secondary resources. That would only be in your studies in literature in University.
[BUNP2]Discuss= write about issue[s] or topic [s] in depth in a structured way.
[BUNP3]See, herein you have the surface meaning of the poem.
[BUNP4]See, how the point [P of PEEL] [thesis statement] is derived from the question. Incidentally, herein is the deeper meaning of the poem. You’ll usually place your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph [Introductory paragraph]. You can pull the fundamental components for your thesis statement from the writing prompt or the topic idea you’ve come up with.
[BUNP5]See, how the language feature is accompanied with a comment on its effect on the reader.
[BUNP6]See, how The Eagle is described by means of imagery brought in by the literary devices of personification and hyperbole in addition to the colorful phrases. So, therein is the EE [Evidence+ Explanation] of PEEL
[BUNP7]See, how the language feature is accompanied with a comment on its effect on the reader.
[BUNP8]See, how the language feature is accompanied with a comment on its effect on the reader.
[BUNP9]See, here is the “Link”
[L of LINK] that connects all your explanation studded with evidence to your point or thesis statement made in the beginning.
