The_Eagle_PPT

I.Briefintroduction1.BriefintroductionofAlfredTennyson2.WritingbackgroundofthepoemII.GeneralanalysisofTheEagle1.Generalidea2.Intermsofrhymescheme3.Intermsoffiguresofspeech4.IntermsofsymbolicmeaningIII.Conclusion1.BriefintroductionofAlfredTennysonAlfredTennysonwasafamousBritishpoetinVictoriaPeriod.Hewasveryinterestedinpoemsandbeganwritingpoemsatseven.Hepublishedmanypoemsinhislifetime,mostofwhicharemasterpieces,suchas,TheMiller’sDaught,theMayQueen,TheEagle.2.BriefintroductionofthepoemItislyricpoetryinmemoryofArthurH.HallamwhowasnotonlythebestfriendofTennysonbutalsoanexcellentappreciativereaderofhispoetry.HallaminfluencedTennysongreatly.In1833Hallamsuddenlydied.HisdeathmadeTennysonverysadandwasaveryhardblowforTennyson.Afterhisfrienddied,Tennysonmissedhimformanyyears.Hallam’sfigureappearedinhismindagainandagain.Tennysoncherishedthememoryofhisfrienddeeply.SointhepoemTheEagle,hecreatedabraveeagleflyingeverywhere.HecomparedhisfriendHallamtotheeagle.Becauseheandhisfriendindulgedinself-admirationhedescribedtheeagleflyingfreelyandlonelyinordertoextoltheoutstandingpersonalityandindomitablespiritofhisfriend.1.GeneralideaThoughitisshortandsimple,itismeaningful.Theeagleinthepoemisfavorablypresentedasbeingstrongandtough,proudandmajestic,sharp-eyed,alertandquickinmovement.Heclaspsthecragwithcrookedhands;Closetothesuninlonelylands,Ring'dwiththeazureworld,hestands.Intheinitialthree-linestanza,theeagleispicturedinaloftyposition,onacrag'closetothesun'.Tennysonusesalliterationinthefirstline:'Heclaspsthecragwithcrookedhands',ahard'c'soundrecurringandthencontinuingintheword'Close'atthebeginningofthesecondline.Theharshconsonantsuggeststhelackofcomfortonthismountaintop.Ratherthanusingawordsuchasclawsortalons,Tennysonlikenstheeagletoapersonwiththeterm'hands'.Thealliterationofthephrase'lonelylands'inthesecondlineemphasizesthebird'ssolitude.Inthefinallineofthethirdstanza,theeagleisseenisbeing'Ring'dwiththeazureworld,inotherwordsthesky,soonceagainhiselevatedpositionisfocusedon.Thewrinkledseabeneathhimcrawls;Hewatchesfromhismountainwalls,Andlikeathunderbolthefalls.Theopeninglineofthesecondstanzaswitchestotheviewbelowthemountaintopinthepersonifyingphrase'Thewrinkledseabeneathhimcrawls'.Thewavesarereducedtothesizeofwrinkles,againemphasisinghowfarabovetheseatheeagleis.Inthesecondline,theeagleiswatching'fromhismountainwalls',makinghispositionsoundsecure,protected.Inthefinalline,Tennysonusesasimiletocreateanimageofthebird'sswiftandpowerfuldescentonhisprey:'Andlikeathunderbolthefalls.'2.IntermsofrhymeschemeThepoemhasregularrhyme.Thefirstthreeversesallrhymeaswellasthefinalthree.Thus,therhymeschemeisa,a,a,b,b,b.a.personificationThefirstverseofthepoemexemplifiespersonification.Thoughtheeaglehasclaws,Tennysonusesthewordhands.b.alliterationThewords“clasps”,“crag”and“crooked”haveaharsh/k/sound,whichimpliesadversecircumstancessuchastheharshclimateandthemightyimageoftheeagle.Thealliterationofthephrase'lonelylands'inthesecondlineemphasizesthebird'ssolitude.C.simileTennysonusesasimiletocreateanimageofthebird'sswiftandpowerfuldescentonhisprey:'Andlikeathunderbolthefalls.'Inthepoem,heemphasizesthevisualsense.Suchwordsas“crag”,“lonelylands,wrinkledsea,theazureworldareusedtoachievethegoal.Throughoutthepoemthepoetassociatestheeaglewiththebeautyofnature.Thusreaderscanimaginehowbrave,powerfulandstrongtheeagleis.Theskyandtheseagivethereaderasenseofvastnessandboundlessness,powerandmystery.Thewaveoftheseaistremendousandturbulent.Butintheeyesoftheeagle,thewaveoftheseaiswrinkledandcrawls.Thenarrativesareextremelyvisual.Thisanalogyachievesseveralpurposes.Firstly,itmakesthereaderfeelthataneaglehasthecharacteristicsofahumanbeingandmakestheeaglemorevivid;secondly,thepoetshowshisownattitudetowardtheeagle;thirdly,thepoetexpresseshisownfeelingforlovingnature.Thispoemisveryshortbutfullofmeaning.TheliterarydevicesofthepoemandthepowerfulimagerycombinetomakeitaclassicintheworldofEnglishpoetry.