“The Eagle” - By Alfred Lord Tennyson

“The Eagle” is written by great Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. He was hailed as the foremost representative of Victorian Poet.

Title of the poem “The Eagle” is refers to the eagle, which is the subject of the poem. And title is sounds as if it would literally be about an eagle, perhaps about nature and how powerful the eagle is. The poem invokes a feeling of respect from the reader for the great, majestic eagle. And the author speaks with reverence towards the eagle, he refers to the eagle with high terms, both literally and figuratively.

Theme:

The theme of this poem is eagle and its grandeur. This is stressed at several points throughout the poem.

Line to line analysis: 

                                      He claps the crag with crooked hands;

The eagle grasps the rocky bluff with gnarled claws. He is perched atop this hill as he looks down on the world below him. Also in this poem personification is used as the poet refers to the eagle as “he” and he has “hands” which an eagle wouldn't have.

                                     Close to the sun in lonely lands

The eagle is near the sun and is alone, high above any other organisms, in the sky. The “lonely lands” may refer to the upper troposphere.

                                     Ring's with the azure worlds, he stands.

The eagle is among the blue sky, as this is the place where the bird spends most of its time. Also the eagle appears as if he is standing.

                                     The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

The world below the eagle appears so insignificant to the eagle, as the eagle enjoys his majestic throne in the sky.

                                     He watches from his mountain walls,

The eagle is watching the world from his perch on the top of mountainous terrain.

                                    And like a thunderbolt he falls.

The eagle descends with sharp speed to complete his task of obtaining food or to return back to the ground.

So, the poem has personal and Christian, mythological or religious and political references. The eagle could be tennyson, or any proud person, or Christ or the devil or America or a warning to colonial Britain about the consequences of pries even, if looked at consequences and allegorically. But it is basically a nature poem, praising the eagle's beauty and power.