Explain how the glory of nature is portrayed with a realistic theme in this poem.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson briefly but vividly describes the behavior of the titular bird in his poem "The Eagle." It is accurate to say that Tennyson's poem portrays both "the glory of nature" and realism because his imagery and diction convey the power of the eagle while also faithfully representing its actions.

The first of the two stanzas reads:

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. (1–3)

This stanza portrays the eagle perched on a mountain "crag." Tennyson uses alliteration ("clasps," "crag, "crooked"; "lonely lands") to establish a rhythm. He also incorporates vivid imagery so that the reader can picture the eagle. He seems to be surveying the land around him. The poetic phrase "Ring'd with the azure world" shows us that the eagle "stands" above and within this blue sky. The eagle has not taken any action yet, but he will do so in the next and final stanza.

Tennyson writes,

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls. (4–6)

The first two lines of this stanza continue the theme of the first stanza in that the eagle remains above the scene, watching intently. The water flows beneath him. He is perched on "his mountain walls," the "crag" from line 1. The final line, though, dramatically alters the image of the poem: "like a thunderbolt he falls." Suddenly, the eagle is in motion. We know, because of the poem's realism and our understanding of nature, that the eagle has spotted prey and is moving toward it quickly. The simile in line 6 emphasizes his speed and power. The descriptions of the world around him and the motion of the eagle in the last line support "the glory of nature." The entire poem is realistic because it describes a landscape faithfully and vividly, while it also depicts the actual behaviors of the eagle.