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.
The Brook—Break, Break, Break—Sweet and Low—And The Eagle (1891) | Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)
Suggestions
- Copy the poem into a copybook.
- Use Drawing and Writing paper to add one or two lines from the poem along with a corresponding illustration.
- Narrate the poem, describing to someone else what is happening.
- Learn more about eagles.
- Explore “The Owl,” also by Tennyson. Compare and contrast the two birds.
- Create a diamond poem describing the eagle.
- Create a pyramid poem using the same alliterative sound Tennyson uses in the first line.
- Use this poem as a model to write your own poem in a similar manner but about a different bird of your choice.
Additional Resources
Write Something Every Day: 366 Pencil Sharpeners for Students of Writing
Our book will get you started. This huge 554-pg. resource provides carefully crafted writing prompts and challenges for each day. We use nearly 20 different forms of writing to keep the student engaged. Also included are writing instruction, tips for modifying assignments for “younger writers,” and other resources. Learn more.
14 Forms of Writing for the Older Student: Poetry
Ideas for doing more with the poem.
Favorite Poems of Childhood edited by Philip Smith
Dover Children’s Thrift Classic we enjoyed includes this and one other Tennyson poem. Perfect for reading aloud!
Poems Every Child Should Know edited by Mary E. Burt
Included in this public domain book were poems selected for their value. “Children should build for their future—and get, while they are children, what only the fresh imagination of the child can assimilate.”
