The Eagle Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. "The Eagle" is a fragment, and Tennyson might have intended more to be written. How would you continue the poem? What would the eagle do next?
  2. Besides the "azure" blue of the sea and sky, what colors do you see in this poem?
  3. From whose perspective is the poem written? Does the poem change perspectives at any point?
  4. If the eagle thought like a person, what would he be thinking? Could you compose a monologue of his impressions?
  5. Does this poem have any kind of "moral" or ethical lesson? Does poetry need to have some theme or lesson to impart?
  6. How does gender play out in the poem? Why is the eagle a male? Would the poem be different if the eagle were a female?