“The Eagle”, written by Alfred Tennyson in 1851, is a short metaphorical poem, based upon the idea of “The Eagle” resembling power, strength and pride. This is seen when “He watches from his mountain walls”. This seems as if it is his territory and that he is powerful and remote. Unlike the “Sonnet”, this poem does not have nature overpowering the creatures. Instead “The Eagle” itself dominates. “The Eagle” flying high up, above everyone else, reinforces the idea of him being forceful. This is seen in line 2, where the poet states, “close to the sun” and gives an image of “The Eagle” being powerful and everyone else powerless. “The wrinkled sea beneath him” suggests that the sea is below him and the phrase “beneath him” illustrates that the idea of the sea being below him emphasise that the sea is scared but admires him. The sky is around him. He is “ringed” with the blue world; it is as if “He stands” and controls in the centre of the world. The poet uses romantic language such as “lonely lands”. This is clearly alliteration and describes “The Eagle” as harsh, violent and rough. The last line “and like a thunderbolt he falls” imply to the reader that he dives effortlessly to catch his pray and this epitomizes the power of “The Eagle”. “The Eagle” is a short poem with two stanzas, each with three lines. The poet uses various devices to create an image of a magnificent eagle. In “The Eagle” this is particularly attention grabbing with the use of alliteration to strengthen the beat, “He clasps the crag with crookèd hands”. Tennyson also uses rhyming triplets to add emphasis using the power of three to make his short poem more memorable and again emphasized. The quote, “crookèd hands” is a personification which is a feature of “The Eagle” and it suggests that he is an old man. Furthermore, it symbolises that he has wisdom, knowledge and is powerful. The author describes the rough environment that the eagle lived within. This is seen when the author uses onomatopoeia “clasp…wrinkled” which illustrates the viciousness of the bird.
Clare’s Sonnet has a very happy, joyful mood, this is because John Clare wants to portray summer as a bright, busy time of year; he does this by using many verbs and by using many colourful adjectives such as “stain with gold” This sonnet is unusual as there are no rhyming couplets, instead verbs at the end of each line to show activity such as “play”. John Clare’s “Sonnet” is a traditional sonnet; it has 14 lines 10 syllables per line, and rhyming couplets. He also uses a lot of alliteration, onomatopoeia, and many adjectives for example, “white wool sack clouds”. The repetition used in Clare’s poem, of “I love”, outlines his feelings for summer, and it shows how much things there are that he loves about summer. The final comparison is how the poets use language to convey their message; Clare in his poem uses lots of words of movement to describe the summer. This poem has no punctuation. This allows the poem to flow quickly.
In conclusion, compared with the wonderful pleasing portrayal of nature in “Sonnet” and the magnificence of it also in “The Eagle” they seem rather harsh looks on life. Nature is not shown as wild or devastated, but soft, gentle and beautiful. In “The Eagle” the poet portrays the surroundings as old and unremarkable to make the eagle stand out amongst images.
