The poem
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.
The Eagle
Keep reading
Discover more of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poetry.
Readers
Reader discussion 18 comments
- Readers
- 17
- Stanzas quoted
- 1of 1
- Most quoted
- “He clasps the crag with crooked hands”8 readers
- Longest reading
- julia262 words
i need analysis for this potery,criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding this poem better? If they are accepted, they will be added to this page of Poetry Connection. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
I love this poem very much. But after reading many times, I am puzzled by the last line-- the eagle falls like a thunderbolt. Such an image gives an air of disappointment to the whole poetry, I think. Imagine how wonderful and great, if one can stand in a highest point, closest to the sun and viewing the commen people underneath! Why it finally fall, and abandon such a state of life? True, it is a lonely place. But if it is willing to fall and join the majority, why like a thunderbolt?
In answer to comment#2,
He watches from his mountain walls (for prey)
And like a thunbderbolt he falls (He means it dives after its' prey, it doesn't just fall off!!)
The whole poem is meant to give the image of the eagle on top of the rocks, waiting for its' prey.
i like this poem but i am some what confused. i dont know whether the theme is isolation or freedom or it could probably be something else. Tennyson ROCKS!!!!
The poem makes the eagle seem like a human( anthromorphism), like grand and majestic, as if the eagle is the king and the prey are his inferiors, i love this poem and the use of rhythm and rhyme too.
In answer to comment 4, i think the thunderbolt could be in reference to zeus. Romantic poets do tend to allude to religion and myth/legend so this could be an allusion to zeus. Just a theory=) also i think this poem's great.
actually in need help in my home work i am very confuse about the meaning of the poem also i ned a hepl in getting the figures of speech and the poem presentative >
explain the Appropriates of the poem form
yeh im doing this at school as an essay its a great poem but im terible at this so ill probs fail
What does this poem mean? If you were Paraphrasing and doing a Precis on your poem what would you put?
This poem is about an eagle going after his prey. In the first stanza, "He clasps the crag (a steep cliff projecting upward or outward) with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world he stands." the speaker is creating a vivid description of an eagle scoping out his possible food options. And as "The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbold he falls" To back up the other comment, I also believe that the eagle doesnt just fall, I believe he was diving, like a thunderbolt, to capture his prey. I'm not sure that is poem is anything more then a description. I could be wrong though. :/
The Eagle is, on the first level, a beautiful poem about a powerful(close to the sun) bird, waiting and watching for his prey. He has no distractions, no one else can reach his heights (lonely lands), he's very focused with intense kinetic energy. When he sees his prey, he wastes no time in going purposfully after it (like a thunderbolt he falls). On another level, the eagle represents a person in some sort of…
Read the whole commentThe Eagle is, on the first level, a beautiful poem about a powerful(close to the sun) bird, waiting and watching for his prey. He has no distractions, no one else can reach his heights (lonely lands), he's very focused with intense kinetic energy. When he sees his prey, he wastes no time in going purposfully after it (like a thunderbolt he falls). On another level, the eagle represents a person in some sort of position of power (close to the sun), a type of power or level of decision-making that no one else is experiencing. Because of the uniqueness of their situation, they are alone, no one else can understand their position--either in that moment, or possibly in their life (in lonely lands). This doesn't necessarily mean they are literally lonely. Meanwhile, they are watchful, knowing, purposeful. They see from a different perspective or dimension than others (the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls). They know what they have to do and they are waiting for the right moment to do it. They are not wasting time. To use contemporary lit as a reference, I think Harry Potter could, in a way, exemplify the Eagle. Although I think it's most obviously applied to those in positions of great power, I think each person may, at some point in their lives, have a moment where they are the eagle. This is a moment where only you understand a certain situation, no one else does and no one else has power to do anything about it. The point is, don't lose sight of your mark.
What this poem means to prove I think I know it rather well. I first read it a quarter century ago. Recently I have translated it into Chinese, almost word for word, and I felt good in all respects, i.e., the form, the number of words, and the rhymes (Chinese, of course). Then I crammed over some versions of this poem in different texts, mostly from the Web, and found the first line: He clasps the crag with crooked…
Read the whole commentWhat this poem means to prove I think I know it rather well. I first read it a quarter century ago. Recently I have translated it into Chinese, almost word for word, and I felt good in all respects, i.e., the form, the number of words, and the rhymes (Chinese, of course). Then I crammed over some versions of this poem in different texts, mostly from the Web, and found the first line: He clasps the crag with crooked hands";", all but one in ":". Although this tiny dot of the poem won't lead to any (my understanding) significant change in its intended meaning, now my fastidious question: Colon or Semicolon? Hope someone who owns the authoritative text of Lord Tennyson would tell me the "exact and correct" punctuation mark.
I have just finished writing a 4 page paper on two poems of Tennysons and have really enjoyed it. He is really easy to understand because of his use of literary elements. In this poem The Eagle the use of personification, imagery, rhyme, and figurative language, really enhance this poem.
this poem is about Moses (the eagle) you fools - 'he clasps the crag w/crooked hands'- 'crooked' implies wrongful...wrongful hands that moses had when he struck the "crag" and water miraculously comes pouring out to quench the thirst of the Israelites and instead of praising God taking credit for himslef instead of acknowleding God. Also "the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls"..."wrinkled" implies getting old or…
Read the whole commentthis poem is about Moses (the eagle) you fools - 'he clasps the crag w/crooked hands'- 'crooked' implies wrongful...wrongful hands that moses had when he struck the "crag" and water miraculously comes pouring out to quench the thirst of the Israelites and instead of praising God taking credit for himslef instead of acknowleding God. Also "the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls"..."wrinkled" implies getting old or restless...which was the exact reaction the Israelites took when Moses left them (to go to the Mountain and seek God for the 10 commandments)...the israelites got so "wrinkled" that they began creating their own God for instructions (the golden calf)...and finally "like a thunderbolt he falls"...this was Moses reaction when he founds out the israelites are praying to a false god and the "thunderbolt" as we know from the bible is one original stone tablets (10 commandments) that is hurled into the israelites and causes distruction...come on people it's so obvious
Wow, it is amazing how someone can go from being an intellectual into a pompous jerk with just a few words. Poetry is open to interpretation and no one is a "fool" for interpreting it differently from someone else. You make a good point, and indeed the author may have written this in that very context, but he may very well have just written it as an appreciation for the beauty and tragedy of life and death. Nothing…
Read the whole commentWow, it is amazing how someone can go from being an intellectual into a pompous jerk with just a few words. Poetry is open to interpretation and no one is a "fool" for interpreting it differently from someone else. You make a good point, and indeed the author may have written this in that very context, but he may very well have just written it as an appreciation for the beauty and tragedy of life and death. Nothing is obvious when it comes to interpretation of poetry, life, faith, or religion. You could have given your point, and without the sense that you find your view superior to all others, it is actually a very good point. More people have been turned off from a viewpoint because someone who was "right' believed that "right" meant "superior" and that anyone different was not only wrong but inferior and thus could be treated with contempt, scorn, and ridicule. It is always so sad to see when someone who is actually a smart individual to fall into bigitry because they allow their head to swell with thoughts that they are any better than the next person simply because of different beliefs.
This poem is well-written. I definately agree with clint. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and analysis to the poem, along with any others. Tennyson's work is often melancholic. It could be focused on life and death, yet still have the presence of power and beauty. i like comment #6, the reference to zeus about the thunderbolt. good reasoning.
concerning no 2,i think that he means that the eagle is strong even if it falls. i have different interpretation for the poem. Tennyson compares between 2 kinds of people ,one represents the eagle &the other the sea .the first kind of people,the eagle type,are the ones who are capable of developing their countries.on the contrary, the sea type people are waiting for others to help them.they wrinkled and are not capable of doing anything. as for the fall of the eagle ,it shows that good people can fall but recovered quickly "like a thunderbolt he falls" it's better than saying " he falls like a thunderbolt".
So, what about "the eagle falls like a thunderbolt" is that personification an allusion an idiom or a similie