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represent how the eagle, or
Catholics, held onto what they once had, the support of the government. "Close to the sun in lonely lands" could represent how Catholics were made to be illegal and were alone. "The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls" shows how the government needed Catholics, based on Tennyson's writing. The English government suffered and "crawls" and the Catholics stand there watching this collapse happen. "Like a thunderbolt he falls" represents how the eagle, or Catholics, needs to stay strong and separate themselves from the beliefs of the English government.
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the mountain. They say that the fragment is vital to understanding the poem in the way that the mountain depicted is in fact the whole poem and the eagle, being a part of the mountains identity, is a loss when the eagle falls. The uncertainty of the poem being complete or incomplete reinforces the open ended question of what happens to the eagle at the end of the poem.
66:, an intellectual movement which emphasized reason. Contrastingly, Romanticism as a whole valued feeling over thought, and was characterized by imagination, individualism, and freedom. Romantic poets often focused on the idea that nature is beautiful and that, to understand life, humans must appreciate nature. "The Eagle" shows Tennyson's appreciation of nature.
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technique makes a reader stop and consider the meaning of the line; this also draws attention to the eagle, making it seem even more important than just a bird. He continually draws emphasis to the eagle, making it seem regal and better than the average human. This idea, of nature being better than humans, is a part of
Romanticism.
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The eagle is also referred to as a metaphor for someone in power, the political corruption. The "clasping with crooked hands" indicate the firm grasp of the powerful with malevolent hands, "close to the sun, lonely lands, ring'd with the azure world" indicate being close to extremely powerful leaders
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was passed in
England making it a criminal offense for anyone outside the Church of England to use any episcopal title. Tennyson may have written the poem to represent how Catholics were strong and could separate themselves from the English government. "He clasps the crag with crooked hands" could
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Often literary scholars believe the poem is short to emphasize the deeper meaning in nature itself, that the reader has to find himself. Tennyson's use of alliteration in the words clasps, crag and crooked (/k/) in the first line is meant to sound like a melody and makes it harder to pass over. This
149:. The end rhymes add to the lyrical sense of the poem and the soothing, soaring nature of the eagle. This poem is one of Lord Tennyson's shortest pieces of literature. It is composed of two stanzas, three lines each. Contrary to the length, the poem is full of deeper meaning and figurative language.
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Due to its title, the poem is generally considered an incomplete piece of work. However, some literary critics believe that the poem is, in fact, complete due to the overall symbolism within the poem. Scholars argued that the fragment is a symbol for the eagle due to the eagle "breaking away" from
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Mountain Range. This mountain range on the border of France and Spain came to be his favorite place, along with the nearby valley called the
Cauteretz. "The Eagle" was inspired by Tennyson's frequent travels to the Pyrenees. He frequently saw eagles, raptors, and other birds of prey circling above
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Although
Tennyson has a reputation of a quiet, polite Englishman among other literary figures, he was once part of a small group who traveled to the border of Spain to deliver money and messages to Spanish Revolutionaries. While he did eventually fall out of the project, he came to enjoy the
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during the 1800s. This era is widely known for the
Romanticism movement in the literary culture. Tennyson was often referred as one of the main representatives of poetry during the Victorian era due to his growing popularity both during and after his time. Romanticism was a reaction to
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and the lack of genuine company. The "wrinkled sea" is indicated to be the common mass, "crawls" – trembling before the ruler, and that he watches everything happening from his high position. "And like a thunderbolt he falls" can be interpreted in two ways,
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him in this area. In the poem, Tennyson opted to create an imaginary setting of cliffs by the sea, instead of the mountainside. Tennyson is known for his imagery and transcendental vantage points.
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Another theory surrounding the poem is that the eagle represents
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The preying upon of a person (political corruption) in a lower hierarchical position.
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113: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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was the popular rhyme scheme of the time, Tennyson wrote this poem in
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Joseph, Gerhard (May 1977). "Tennyson's Optics: The Eagle's Gaze".
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Two
Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes
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Jackson, Marette (1 September 1984). "Tennyson's The Eagle".
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196:"Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Eminent Victorian"
129:Learn how and when to remove this message
164:The sudden decline of a person in power.
1446:Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit
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35:, which was first published in 1851.
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111:adding citations to reliable sources
427:Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson
16:Short poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1289:"Those bastards in their mansions"
1083:Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan
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1241:"We Remember Your Childhood Well"
1329:"The Affliction of Margaret" by
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333:"The Eagle Summary and Analysis"
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1512:Poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1454:"Your Shoes" by Michèle Roberts
547:The Charge of the Light Brigade
221:"Romanticism: The Romantic Age"
194:Timko, Michael (October 2011).
98:needs additional citations for
45:Reading of the poem "The Eagle"
1183:A Difficult Birth, Easter 1998
371:10.1080/00144940.1984.11483828
174:Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851
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617:Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
720:Flower in the Crannied Wall
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1273:"My father thought it..."
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1402:The Village Schoolmaster
792:Chapel House, Twickenham
273:"The Eagle Introduction"
1347:"The Man He Killed" by
1341:"Tichborne's Elegy" by
939:Edward Kamau Brathwaite
855:Charles Tennyson Turner
603:Lady Clara Vere de Vere
1321:Song of the Old Mother
1244:"Before You Were Mine"
1093:Hurricane Hits England
809:Blackdown, West Sussex
442:Poems, Chiefly Lyrical
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1249:Education for Leisure
1152:"At a Potato Digging"
1130:Death of a Naturalist
1115:"Storm on the Island"
985:Night of the Scorpion
979:Lawrence Ferlinghetti
561:A Dream of Fair Women
499:The Miller's Daughter
55:Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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33:Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1465:The End of Something
1414:" by Alfred Tennyson
1387:" by Robert Browning
1325:William Butler Yeats
1026:Search for My Tongue
1005:What Were They Like?
741:Ring Out, Wild Bells
727:The Higher Pantheism
513:The Ballad of Oriana
492:Mariana in the South
107:improve this article
1369:William Shakespeare
1355:Patrolling Barnegat
1226:Elvis's Twin Sister
1068:" by Imtiaz Dharker
1036:Unrelated Incidents
653:St. Simeon Stylites
540:Break, Break, Break
464:The Lady of Shalott
1331:William Wordsworth
1095:" by Grace Nichols
861:Frederick Tennyson
596:In Memoriam A.H.H.
589:Idylls of the King
450:The Deserted House
253:. 12 February 2024
251:www.britannica.com
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1343:Charles Tichborne
1311:On My First Sonne
1188:"The Field Mouse"
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949:Tatamkhulu Afrika
945:Nothing's Changed
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667:Tears, Idle Tears
632:The Palace of Art
147:iambic tetrameter
143:iambic pentameter
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64:the Enlightenment
57:lived during the
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1457:"Growing Up" by
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1450:Sylvia Plath
1417:"Sonnet" by
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1359:Walt Whitman
1349:Thomas Hardy
1276:"Homecoming"
1196:On the Train
1030:Sujata Bhatt
776:(song cycle)
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639:The Princess
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119:October 2022
116:
105:Please help
100:verification
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1365:Sonnet CXXX
1087:Moniza Alvi
1040:Tom Leonard
758:Other works
713:Enoch Arden
691:Late poetry
646:Sir Galahad
257:29 February
1502:1851 poems
1496:Categories
1459:Joyce Cary
1419:John Clare
1315:Ben Jonson
1279:"November"
1254:"Stealing"
1050:John Agard
1046:Half Caste
955:Island Man
918:Poems from
845:(grandson)
839:(grandson)
774:The Window
582:Lady Clare
457:The Kraken
359:Explicator
277:shmoop.com
181:References
1412:The Eagle
1295:"Hitcher"
1191:"October"
1135:"Digging"
1066:This Room
1018:Cluster 2
927:Cluster 1
863:(brother)
857:(brother)
706:The Eagle
575:St. Agnes
389:The Eagle
337:Study.com
141:Although
21:The Eagle
1303:Pre-1914
1238:"Salome"
1219:Havisham
1147:Follower
995:Vultures
965:Blessing
869:(friend)
851:(sister)
748:Tithonus
506:Claribel
79:Analysis
72:Pyrenees
25:Fragment
1392:Ulysses
1118:"Perch"
785:Related
681:Ulysses
478:Mariana
50:History
1436:Flight
1178:"Mali"
1170:Catrin
912:(2004)
827:(wife)
818:People
768:(play)
627:(1842)
568:Godiva
532:Poetry
485:Oenone
445:(1830)
342:26 May
319:461705
317:
282:31 May
231:25 May
205:27 May
1467:" by
1448:" by
1438:" by
1428:Prose
1404:" by
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