Blackberyy

How are animals presented in ‘The Eagle’ and ‘Perch’' The Eagle Written in 1851, Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem 'The Eagle' is a brief look into the world of this majestic bird of prey. The eagle is portrayed as nature itself, and how man, portrayed as ‘the wrinkled sea’, must crawl beneath it. This is contradictory to ‘Perch’ by Seamus Heaney as he depicts the animals as being an unwelcome element in the picturesque scene he describes of the clear Bann River where he fished as a child. Personally I feel that Tennyson is accusing man of being cowardly by using the word crawl. There are many definitions of ‘crawl’, but I feel that the most important one is ‘feel as if crawling with insects; "My skin crawled--I was terrified”’. This definition is important because your skin also crawls when you feel guilt, and perhaps Tennyson is showing man as the guilty party, and that he blames them for the destruction of nature; this poem was, after all, written during the Industrial Revolution. I also think that it could be a representation of the British Empire, as at the time of the poem being written Britain covered a large proportion of the world. The poem was written during the reign of Queen Victoria, who is well renowned as being one of the most powerful monarchs in history; so the bird could be representational of the queen herself, or the intense power she exerted over the majority of the world during her time as queen. The poem also could be linked to Greek mythology and in particular the god Zeus. He was known to be the father of all the other gods and mankind itself, and was considered to be the ruler of the skies. He possessed and was often related to symbols such as the eagle and a thunderbolt which both are mentioned in the poem in order to represent the power of the bird and indeed of nature. The eagle is considered to be the ‘king of the sky’ and surveys all life and hunts most of it while flying. I think the fact that Tennyson links the eagle to a god is significant because they are seen as idyllic beings who us mortals should all aspire to be like. Heaney on the other hand portrays the perch as a hindrance and amateur beings and ones that should not plague the clarity of the river. At the beginning of the poem the eagle is in a position unreachable by man (rather like god in the heavens) on a crag (a rocky cliff like surface,) 'close to the sun'. Anthropomorphism is used heavily when characterising the eagle; for example likening the eagle to a human by giving it 'hands' as opposed to claws which is what one would expect. The phrase 'lonely lands' highlights the bird being alone which on a deeper level could represent the negativity of power; and that he is clutching the crag in order to hold onto it, and not to admit defeat to the advancing forces which relates back to the British empire or indeed the forces of nature. The third line begins with ‘Ring'd with the azure world’, and this could be a representation to the sky again looking at the perspective of the poet, so once again his high position is focused on and he again is seen as a powerful creature. The first line of the second stanza changes perspective and now focuses on the view below the eagle. Tennyson personifies the sea as ' wrinkled', which could represent the distance between the eagle and the waves being so great that they are reduced to the size of wrinkles, or that the wrinkles are a representation of age. 'From his mountain walls'. These ‘walls’ allow the eagles position to be secure and protected. It could also be a representation of a fortress or castle that the eagle is protecting, which again refers back to the British Empire. In the final line, Tennyson uses a simile to create an image of the bird's powerful capture of prey: 'And like a thunderbolt he falls.' This quote refers back to Greek mythology and Zeus carrying a thunderbolt as a sign of power; it was also denoted as a lethal weapon. The fish however are relatively exposed as they cling to the river bed. The poet characterises the bird as being quite possessive by referring to it as a ‘he’, and calling the sea ‘his’. Whereas it could be interpreted that the fish are trying to remain in the river in order to be a part of it and not been seen as outcasts like Heaney portrays. Perch The title of this poem could be referred to as an ambiguous one. As well as naming the fish described in the poem, it can also be used to describe a state of poise, i.e. barely sitting on the edge of a desk. In ‘The Eagle’ the bird maintains a constant strong ‘clasp’ on the crag where he stands which gives the impression to the reader that he is comfortable. The word ‘perch’ is normally associated with birds, which makes the eagle a contradictory source as it is portrayed as having quite a strong stance. In particular budgies are recognised for sitting on perches and these fish are seen to be ‘perched’ as according to the poet they appear to maintain motionless in the powerful flow or the ‘glorified body’ of the river. Heaney often in his poetry refers to childhood memories involving nature. In this particular instance he is describing a return to the River Bann where he used to go fishing during his childhood. “I saw and I see”, this links his past feelings with his present ones with the implication that they are, in a sense, balanced, and not too different from how he remembers. As an alternative interpretation the phrase could relate to a see-saw, and how it needs an equal weight at each end to remain balanced. I think that Heaney believes this because his childhood memories and his actual reality as an adult do not have a striking difference, therefore remaining balanced in his mind. The poem itself studies the qualities of the fish in the river he is visiting, and how they can hang in the water. This could represent the physical power of the fish as they battle against the current of the water. A variety of Heaney’s poetry refers to rivers; here the Bann is represented as clear which could mean without impurities therefore making it pure. I think that perhaps Heaney views the fish as a polluting factor to the river; much like the frogs in ‘Death of a Naturalist’. Heaney views the fish as a negative influence on the river, spoiling it somehow. The fish could represent trying to fit in, trying to be part of something perfect which in the poet’s eyes is the water, so the perch are clinging on in order to remain a part of the river. There are a number of terms used to describe the perch: the word ‘grunts’ is widely used in the American military to describe entry level soldiers, so this could represent the fish being amateur objects to the river, therefore making them look so out of place in the eyes of the poet. The Perch are also described as ‘little flood-slubs’. A slub is defined as a soft lump or unevenness in a yarn; either an imperfection or created by design. This could again be a representation of the imperfection that the fish are creating in the river, or it could be relaying on the fact that they are different and that is the way that they were intentionally created – referring to the power of nature. They are also described as ‘runty and ready’. When something is described as a runt, it is usually considered weak, and not as strong as the rest of its kind. This comment is regarded as a very negative one but the hate encompassed within it is somehow broken by the fact the word ‘runty’ is accompanied by ‘ready’. This gives the impression that although the fish are not strong, they are ready and willing to make the snap decision at the most awkward of moments, which could perhaps be disturbing to the ‘natural’ flow of the river. Therefore making it look even more irregular to the poet. When Heaney describes the river he uses a large amount of positive and religious language ; for example, “The river’s glorified body. The phrase “glorified body” is one traditionally associated with Christ after the resurrection. So the fact that Heaney uses this phrase almost gives the river an angelic quality. The river is ‘glorified’ and personified ‘body’ giving it a living, majestic power therefore relaying again on the power of nature. This could be linked to ‘The Eagle because both poets have related elements of their poems to god. This could refer to either the setting of the poem of the animal depicted. You can pass through the water, but the fish seem to be holding their position ‘under the water-roof’ as if they are in a house ‘adoze’ sleeping, seemingly at rest and at ease where they are, at the bottom of the river. Heaney has almost invented a word in order to describe the fish here. The word ‘adoze’ is a fusion of the word asleep and dozing which almost represents the fish to be in a trance like state. The continuing theme throughout both of these poems is the relationship between man and nature. The two poets have portrayed animals very differently and have highlighted them in very different perspectives. In ‘The Eagle’ animals and nature, represented by a bird of prey, are all powerful and all other beings must crawl before it in an act of cowardice and admiration. In contrast the fish in ‘Perch’ are seen as a hindrance to the perfection of the river, polluting it with their slub-like imperfections. Alfred Lord Tennyson has portrayed animals to be the centre of nature and that they can easily be linked to great points in history and to great people who define power, going as far back as Greek mythology. Seamus Heaney on the other hand portrayed the Perch as something which is beneath him as a human and something also which has ruined this ‘chocolate box’ image of a ‘glorified river’.