Tennyson uses powerful imagery as a tool in this poem. One can imagine the eagle regally surveying the waves of the sea below, high on a cliff in the mountains. "Close to the sun in lonely lands" implies that he is closer to heaven than earth. "The wrinkled sea" gives the reader a clue as to how high he is. The waves of the sea are so far away they seem more like wrinkles on the surface of the water, rather than the usual crashing waves of the sea. "Like a thunderbolt he falls" shows how quickly he flies back to earth. While Tennyson uses powerful figurative language, his simple rhyming scheme of aaa bbb may seem elementary but allows the poem to flow.
The splendor falls on castle walls
The splendor falls on castle wall
And snowy summits old in story;
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild catarct leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going!
O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
O love, they die in yon rich sky,
They faint on hill or field or river;
Our echoes roll from soul to soul,
And gro for ever and for ever.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.
This poem is about the fading sounds of a bugle falling onto castle walls, snow capped mountains, lakes and cliffs. They fade off into the sky and the echoes go on forever. One imagines a castle on a cliff over looking lakes nestled into the mountains. It must either be sunset or sunrise and the light from it causes long streams of light to dance over the lakes. The first four lines of the last stanza stand out due to their appeal to the human soul. It seems Tennyson is relating the dying sounds of a bugle to our cries of human emotions being carried from one soul to another and the beauty of it. What is interesting is how Tennyson treats the last two lines of each stanza. They seem to be a plea to the bugle to keep repeating the process. The second to last lines of the first and last stanzas are an encouragement to have the bugles blow, but the last lines of the first and last stanzas seem to be the narrator’s resignation to the fact that while the bugle creates beautiful music and echoes, the echoes will eventually die.
(1808 - 1892)
Comments (7)
Anonymous said
at 9:20 am on May 10, 2007
i like how you used different colors, it made it easier to look at!
Anonymous said
at 9:24 am on May 10, 2007
That guy looks angry, but good poems.
Anonymous said
at 9:29 am on May 10, 2007
Very informative paragraphs about the poems, I especially like your opening paragraph about his life. - Erin Kuntz
Anonymous said
at 9:33 am on May 10, 2007
These two poems were interesting. We really liked the one with the eagle. We like the imagery in that poem. you did a good job with your page.
From: Jake Erickson and Savannah Bastian
Anonymous said
at 9:49 am on May 10, 2007
I very much enjoyed the insite that was explained behind every poem, especially The Eagle. I found the analysis to give more meaning and explanation to not only the poem but also the poet's style. Very well put together, congratz!
Anonymous said
at 9:50 am on May 10, 2007
Hmm very interesting poems, kind of tricky! But nice interpretations!
Anonymous said
at 10:06 am on May 10, 2007
Tennyson is one of the very few poets I recognize by name! Love the poems, especially the line, "Ringed with the azure world". He really has a nack for word play! Awesome job on the explainations too!
You don't have permission to comment on this page.