The Eagle

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1851

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Power and Force

The eagle is a regal, predatory bird, so, due to the title, the theme of power and force is present from the beginning. Tennyson reinforces the mastery of the eagle by wasting no time putting him into action. The eagle “clasps the crag with crooked hands” (Line 1), and he smoothly showcases his prowess, with the alliterative line adding to the eagle’s graceful dominance. The eagle's proximity to the sun and his loneliness further his authority. The eagle is at the top of the hierarchy. No other creature or thing has the power to stand with him except for the sun and “the azure world” or sky (Line 3). The sky seems to like the eagle, and it reaffirms the eagle’s power by giving him a diadem or ringing his head.

Juxtaposition contributes to the eagle’s force and power. Tennyson puts together two different things—the eagle and the sea—to spotlight their differences: The “wrinkled sea beneath him crawls” (Line 4). The sea is frazzled, infantile, and low, whereas the eagle is graceful, competent, and high above it all. The eagle “watches from his mountain walls” (Line 5). He possesses the walls; it's his kingdom. The eagle also has the privilege to observe and gaze. Nothing will interfere with the eagle, it seems; he can take his time to figure out how to put his power and force into practice. Finally, “like a thunderbolt he falls” (Line 6). The eagle is once again linked to a potent symbol of power and nature. A thunderbolt can be loud, unsettling, and lethal, and it connects the eagle to Zeus and influential myths. Similar to a vengeful god, the eagle, by the poem’s end, strikes.

Vulnerability and Revolt

The stark image of the eagle—and the lack of commentary from the speaker about the bird—opens up the poem to paradoxical themes. The poem can feature the theme of power and force, but from another angle, the poem also communicates the theme of vulnerability and revolt. Now, the eagle “clasps the crag” (Line 1) out of desperation. It needs something to hold onto, so it lands on the cliff. The word “crag” advances the eagle’s precariousness. It’s not a big, extravagant word but a clipped and tiny term—it’s only four letters long, and it makes something of a whining sound. It’s as if the eagle is in pain or something is wrong with him. The discombobulation continues with the eagle’s “crooked hands” (Line 1). This isn’t a perfect, powerful, and forceful bird; he’s flawed. The anthropomorphism adds to the eagle’s displacement. Tennyson gives the eagle a human feature—hands—when it should have talons. The eagle is not all-powerful but subject to the whims of Tennyson’s speaker. The speaker controls the eagle’s image or persona, so the eagle is under their domain.

The nearness to the sun and the “lonely lands” (Line 2) aren’t signs of peerless power but alienation and further displacement. The eagle is something of an outcast. He’s not around other birds or creatures. He’s by himself or vanished to the hot, scorching sun. He’s “[r]ing’d with the azure world” (Line 3) not because he’s kingly but because he’s trapped. The sky snares him, and the eagle has no other recourse but to stand and take the sky’s imprisonment.

With the theme of vulnerability and revolt, the juxtaposition flips. The “wrinkled sea” that “crawls” (Line 4) under the eagle now indicates stealth and nuance. The eagle’s visibility makes it a target, while the lower sea has the power to lay low and maneuver covertly. Exposed and helpless, the eagle resigns himself to the role of spectator, so “[l]ike a thunderbolt he falls” (Line 6) means that the eagle literally fell. Someone or something—perhaps the sun, the sky, and/or the sea—finally revolted against the eagle and exposed its intrinsic weakness.

Contemplation Before Action or Contemplation versus Action

The theme of contemplation and action is an inherent part of the poem, as the speaker contemplates the eagle and describes its movements. The poem revolves mainly around the literary device of imagery, and if the speaker didn’t closely inspect the bird and its surroundings, the picture of the eagle might be less crisp and detailed. Like the speaker, the eagle becomes a witness, or someone with a subjective gaze. The eagle “watches from his mountain walls” (Line 5), so the eagle has his eye on something—perhaps prey in the “winkled sea” (Line 4). Before the eagle takes action, he contemplates the sea. He has to think about what he’ll do and plan his attack. After the eagle considers the situation, he can strike deliberately, and “like a thunderbolt he falls” (Line 6). The eagle can now strike because he put in the necessary thought.

From another angle, the theme becomes contemplation versus action: The two states oppose one another. The contemplative condition doesn’t produce purposeful action but forestalls it. The eagle makes himself vulnerable by stopping to look at the sea and his surroundings. Distracted by his magnificent environment, the eagle drops his guard, and “like a thunderbolt he falls” (Line 6). Motionless, someone or something blindsides the eagle and sends him to his demise. If the eagle wasn’t busy observing, perhaps he could’ve mounted a counterattack, or maybe he wouldn’t have been attacked in the first place.