‘The Eagle’

‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring’d with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. READING 1 Summarise the poem in six words. The words do not have to make a sentence. 2 What perspective is the poem written from? Explain how you know this. 3 Go to your activity book (see page 65) to practise annotating this poem. 4 Using your inference skills (see page 83), what do you think a crag is? 5 If you were to edit this poem and replace the word ‘azure’, what word would you replace it with and why? 6 The poet uses a semi-colon twice in the poem. What is a semi-colon? Explain why you think the poet chose to use this punctuation? 7 How do you think the poet wants you to feel about the eagle? How do you know this? 8 What does the poet compare the eagle to in the last line of the poem? Is it an effective comparison? Explain why. 9 Create a set of notes for this poem in your activity book (see page 66). ACT IVITY COMMUNICATING 1 Watch a performance of the poem: edco.ie/7xrt 2 An actor’s performance can change based on the tone they use and the purpose of their performance. Prepare your own dramatic performance of this poem. Begin by choosing a purpose and then match that to a suitable tone. Then perform the poem. You could choose from the purposes below or select your own. Purpose A voice-over for a… nature documentary horror movie superhero movie You could choose from the tones below or select your own. Tones amazed and in awe unsettling and cold extremely enthusiastic©The Educational Company of Ireland

WRITING

Walk on the Wild Side is a TV show that combines animal documentary and comedy. The show is comprised of short clips taken from animal documentaries with comedians doing voice-overs for the animals, thereby making the animals seem human, for comedic effect. Write the voice-over script for a short scene for your own comedy nature documentary. Watch the humorous examples from Walk on the Wild Side for inspiration: edco.ie/n8y8 Writing Tips Find a short clip online of an animal doing something interesting and note down the animal’s actions. Before you write the script of the voice-over, think about how you could make the animal’s actions seem human. What are you reminded of? ©The Educational Company of Ireland