Piper Furman
Ms. Locano
AP Lit & Comp
24 September 2016
Poetry Response #2
In the poem "The Eagle" by Alfred Lord Tennyson , the speaker talks about a eagle and when it is flying. The speaker describes the surroundings where the eagle is flying and how its wings are. The speaker paints a very vivid picture when saying: "He clasps the crag with crooked hands;" (1), we all know that eagles don't have hands. Comparing the eagles wings to hands made me think about my mother and when she goes to work. Her "crooked hands" would help people every day. It makes her happy, just like I believe flying, in the poem, makes "The Eagle" happy.
Another aspect of "The Eagle" that I feel is close to me is the shift right before the end. The speaker is addressing the diving part of flying in stanza 2: "The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; / He watches from his mountain walls, / And like a thunderbolt he falls." (4-6) The bird is not only falling in a literal sense, but diving into something. I dive into new things everyday at school, by learning. It's a choice to fall or dive. That's what the poem is conveying to me. That is why Tennyson structured the poem how he did. This is why I like this poem, it gives a sense of power.
Piper I'm so glad you chose this poem. For students, the shorter poems are often harder to find important. As you noticed, this one has such power and strong imagery, even as short as it is.
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