This week, we worked with a poem titled The Eagle by Tennyson. At first glance, I took this poem quite literally, (Here is a link to the poem for reference), as it seemed to me like it was actually about an eagle. However, upon further study, I came to a few different conclusions about the poem. The first thing that changed my mind about this work was my group. My table partners both had incredible ideas that I may never have worked out for myself if I had not been in this group. They brought up how the poem begins with mentioning "crooked hands", leading them to the conclusion that this poem was in fact about a man and not an eagle. In my mind, I just assumed that the author was referring to the crooked talons of a bird. It was then that I was able to approach the poem from a different viewpoint. If I took a step back and really looked around the edges, I was able to begin to form a separate opinion. In my eyes, the poem transformed from a piece about an eagle diving to get food to the story about a king and the fall of his kingdom or reign. The poem became so much more than it had originally been, just because I was shown a new way to analyze works. If you would like more information on good ways to analyze poems, click here. Now, when I look back yet again at the poem, it is obvious to me that it never was just about an eagle. I really need to work on not taking things at face value all of the time. I am glad that I was eventually able to find a meaningful plot to the poem, but in the future I would like my critical thinking skills to kick in automatically if at all possible.
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AuthorThis is an AP Lit and Comp blog by MPHS senior Peri Sanderson Archives
November 2017
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