Carefully read through the poem “The Eagle” by Alfred Tennyson. Look up the meaning
of any unknown words before you begin. Write down the dictionary definition of the
word/s you have looked up. Close your eyes and imagine the landscape and the action
this poem describes before answering the questions.
The Eagle
by Alfred Tennyson
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed 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. Briefly describe what this poem is about. [3]
2. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? [1]
3. Explain the figure of speech in the last line. [2]
4. What is the setting of this poem? [2]
5. This short poem is extremely powerful. How has the poet created a strong idea
using a few words? [3]
6. What does the eagle do with its hands at the beginning of the poem? [2]
7. How do they show the sea moving in the fourth line? [2]
8. How does the poet use words to make us imagine the eagle's power and
greatness? [2]
9. What do you think the poet wants us to feel when we read the poem? [2]
10. What do you like and dislike about this poem? [2]