Question

4. Literary Text: “The Eagle,” Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Read this poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Then, answer the following question(s).


Which sound devices are used in line 1 of the poem?

a. assonance and consonance
b. alliteration and slant rhyme
c. assonance and alliteration
d. consonance and onomatopoeia

5. What does the simile in line 6 suggest about the eagle?

a. its slow but steady hunting style
b. its extreme hunger
c. its sharp eyes and beak
d. its speed and power

6. Which line from the poem reveals personification?

a. the blue sky above a mountain
b. the sound of an eagle's wings
c. the rough feeling of a mountain crag
d. the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls

Answer 1

The sound devices used in line 1 are:

c. assonance and alliteration

The simile in line 6 suggests the following about the eagle:

d. its speed and power

The line which reveals personification is:

d. the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls

Step-by-step explanation:

This is line 1 of the poem: "He claps the crag with crooked hands." Notice that there is a repetition of the initial consonant in three words: clasps, crag, and crooked. That is an example of alliteration. There is also the repetition of the vowel sound in: clasps, crag, and hands. That is an example of assonance.

This is line 6 of the poem: "And like a thunderbolt he falls." The simile (comparison) used here is between the eagle and the thunderbolt. The purpose is to attribute the characteristics of the thunderbolt to the eagle, such as its speed and its power.

Finally, personification is a literary device in which human qualities or actions are attributed to inanimate objects. In option d. "the wrinkled sea beneath him crawls," the action of crawling can only be performed by humans or animals, but not by the sea. Therefore, it is an example of personification.