Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Eagle

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 the mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.


This poem is really cool because it takes a topic that can be just very plain and boring to write/read about but it is actually a good poem. It is short, but precise, just like how the eagle is described as flashing down like a thunderbolt. The poem really shows how open and free eagles are, and how nature around them is so peaceful, yet, the eagle is there to strike down in a moment and capture its pray all in such a graceful manor. I think this poem is really trying to portray the peacefulness that the eagle has. It also shows the eagle as a dominant force in nature.

One thing that can be taken from this poem is the stylistic idea of taking a maybe not so peaceful sight (such as an eagle capturing pray) and making it seem like a delicate and peaceful part of nature. There is nothing in this poem that isn't described with natural words, which makes everything about it seem pure, even the act of catching pray. The poem flows smoothly with words that combine nicely with each other to help it sound like a real setting. Everything about the eagle is just simplistic and easy going. It prooves how nature can really be freeing.