What is the central theme of Tennison's "The Eagle"?

Question

Here is the poem:
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.


The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Answer 1

It could be the sheer power and beauty of nature, but that is pretty straight-forward.

The tone is powerful but lonely. The alliteration in the first line with "clasps, "crag," and "crooked" is a bit creepy. And the eagle has hands? That's personification. It is also lonely up there by the sun. Even the sea beneath is eerie, crawling. And then falling like a thunderbolt, that's fast. The theme might have something to do with over-reaching and becoming too great/successful - it's lonely at the top (and difficult to stay there) and you've got a long way to fall if something goes wrong.

I'm sure there are other themes, as well.

Answer 2

There is no 'theme' in Tennyson's poem. It's beauty lies in the wonderfully descriptive yet simple way he describes the action of a bird of prey swooping down for whatever reason...

For fun read "The Dalliance" and compare the descriptives of the eagles.