"The Eagle"

The Hero Falls

            In the poem “The Eagle” written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the eagle symbolizes the tragedy of a hero. The eagle itself is viewed as a symbol of pride and bravery. The words used to express the actions and appearances of the eagle are personified. There are changes throughout the two stanzas, in word choice and sound, that represent the rise and fall of a hero.

            Eagles themselves portray the idea of a hero. They are fierce and strong predators that resemble freedom and strength. Tennyson chose to use words such as “he,” “hands,” “stands,” and “falls” which give the idea of a person instead of an bird. Without reading the title of the poem, the reader may never even get image of an eagle. This suggests the idea that the eagle is playing the part of a hero:

                        He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

                        Close to the sun in lonely lands,

                        Ringed with the azure world, he stands. (lines 1-3)

This first stanza gives an upward, rising view of an intense eagle perched upon the top of a dangerous cliff overlooking the skies. The eagle is high above the world, “close to the sun.” “Ringed with the azure world” shows that he is above the earth, and the skies encircle him.

Strength is also displayed through the sounds of the words themselves. The hard consonant “c” is repeated, and adds power to the lines. And the repetitive sound of the “a” in words such as “clasps,” “crag,” “hands,” “lands,” and “stands” give a sharp, violent twist . The word clasps has strength in it with the sense of metal tightly grasped. The reader gets a sense of invincibility here from the sounds and imagery:

            The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

            He watches from his mountain walls,

            And like a thunderbolt he falls. (4-6)

This stanza is the decline of the hero. Instead of looking up at the eagle as the reader had been in the first stanza, the image is of looking downward. The lines slow down with the slow “w” sound and the drawn out sound of the “a” in “crawls,” “watches,” “walls,” and “falls”. The “a” slowly rolls off the tongue, giving a dragging feeling of sluggish movement, especially when watching the crawling waves of the sea. At last, the eagle quickly falls, dropping to the waves below.

            The lines of the poem “The Eagle” reflect the tragedy of a hero’s life. It shows the rise and pride of the hero as he overlooks the world and slow end that leads to the sad fall.