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Wed 9 Mar, 2005 08:07 am
hello everyone ,i'm an english learner, and i am have two qutions about the poem "The Eagle" byAlfred,Lord Tennys.can someone please help me?
The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls
1.In Tennyson's poem, eagle is modified by the definite article the, whereas in the encyclopedic verison it is in its plural form or modified by the. How do you account for this? Can you perceive the muliple meanings in the title of the poem?
2.in the poem, the masculine third-person pronoun he stands for the eagle,while in the encyclopedic version, the pronouns used are it and they. What special effect does Teenyson's use of he for the eagle create in the poem?
Steven, Welcome to A2K. First I would like for you to attempt your own interpretation of The Eagle. It is a poem that I truly like, and to analyze it from a grammar point of view does it an injustice.
Incidentally, Steven. I have tried this approach with several people who are attempting to get help here, and a nice "Thank You" would encourage more help along these lines.