Literary Devices Literary Devices    

Lesson 7: Alliteration: The Eagle

by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Performer: Librivox - Lucy Perry

Directions

Study the poem for one week.

Over the week:

• Read or listen to the poem.
• Review the synopsis.
• Read about the poet.
• Complete the enrichment activities.

Synopsis

Lord Alfred Tennyson's 'The Eagle' sprinkles alliteration throughout the poem for effect. The poem details a lone eagle surveying the land and sea from his craggy perch. The eagle launches himself and rockets down from his mountaintop.

Concepts

Poets often use literary devices, defined as 'rules of thumb, convention, or structure that are employed in literature and storytelling.'

The nine literary devices we'll study include:

1. Rhyming
2. Alliteration
3. Similes
4. Metaphors
5. Personification
6. Foreshadowing
7. Allusion
8. Hyperbole
9. Onomatopoeia

Alliteration is defined as the 'repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of two or more words in a row, or at short intervals.'

1. Review the poem, 'Three Gray Geese' and its instances of alliteration.
2. Note the alliteration for the sounds of 'G,' 'R,' and 'GR' together.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite Poem Information

Recite the title of the poem and the name of the poet.

Activity 2: Study the Poem Picture

Study the poem picture and describe how it relates to the poem.

Activity 3: Recite the Poem

Practice reciting the poem aloud.

Activity 4: Study a Tongue Twister

Recite aloud the tongue twister.

Identify instances of alliteration including 'w,' 'ch,' and 'ould/ood.'

• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Activity 5: Identify the Rhyme Scheme

Review the poem below. Does it follow a traditional (ABAB), couplet (AABB), enclosed (ABBA), or triplet (AAABBB) rhyming scheme?

• 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.

Activity 6: Identify Alliteration

Review the poem excerpt. Point out the instances of alliteration.

• He clasps the crag with crooked hands
• Close to the sun in lonely lands

Activity 7: Complete Book Activities   

• Click the crayon above, and complete pages 22-24 of 'Elementary Poetry 5: Literary Devices.'

References

'Alliteration.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.