Tennyson was appointed by Queen Victoria to be England's Poet Laureate in 1850, a year before "The Eagle" was first published, and he served in that position until his death in 1892. He is considered to be one of the most influential voices in the long period of British prosperity during Victoria's reign, which is broadly referred to as the Victorian Age.

Queen Victoria was born atKensington Palace on May 24, 1819. She ascended to the throne of England andIreland in 1837, when her uncle, William IV, died without any children. For sixty-four years she ruledGreat Britain, which was the most powerful country in the world. At first, the eighteen-year-old queen upheld liberal sentiments. The early part of the nineteenth century was still marked by liberalism, which was a belief in equality and individual rights. The height of liberalism had occurred earlier marked by the American Revolution in 1776 and the French...