Hawk Roosting - Ted Hughes Flashcards
(31 cards)
when was this poem written?
1960
themes?
- power
- nature
- death - death is presented as natural in this poem
- religion - the hawk thinks itself to be like a God
poet context
- highly celebrated English poet - was poet laurate from 1984 to his death in 1998 from cancer
- spent most of his life living in rural areas and spent lots of his childhood outdoors
- enjoyed hunting, fishing and swimming
- fascinated by animals as a child; collected and drew toy animals and helped his brother when he went shooting
- was aware of the harsh realities of growing up in the countryside
- the violent imagery that appears in Hughes’ writing is influenced by his father, who was a WW1 veteran
- a ‘war poet once removed’ as he felt the impact of WW1
- the image of a bird sat atop a tree (‘The Imperial Eagle’) was a Nazi party symbol in WW2
- Hughes completed his National Service between 1949 and 1951; it was relatively peaceful
- studied anthropology and archaeology at university
- had many different jobs before becoming a famous poet, including working at a zoo
- he recieved the Queen’s gold medal for poetry in 1974 and an OBE in 1977
- married to American poet Sylvia Plath, however he had affairs and his wife committed suicide - he controlled her a lot which could symbolise how Hughes is the hawk in this poem
what is the meaning of this poem?
- the poem is about a hawk observing the natural world
- the hawk is arrogant, almost tyrannical
- it discusses killing (‘I kill where I please’), how it is God’s masterpiece (‘It took the whole of Creation…’), and how it holds total power over the world around it
- the hawk could be seen as a metaphorical representation of dictators and bullies, or it could just be a hawk
what is the mood of this poem?
- monosyllabic language such as ‘I kill where I please’ creates an eerily calm, or emotionally detached tone in this poem
- there are times where the tone is violent, e.g. ‘hooked head’, which, when combined with the emotionally detached tone, makes the hawk seem like a pyschopath
what was the motivation was the poet to write this poem?
- having grown up in the countryside, Hughes embraces the violent aspects of nature, rejecting the stereotypical depictions of nature as being something cute, fluffy and innocent
- through his choice of images, such as ‘I sit in the top of the wood’, Hughes could be alluding to the Nazi party of WW2, and highlighting the arrogance of dictator-like leaders or regimes
title: ‘Hawk Roosting’
LANGUAGE:
- starting the poem’s title with ‘Hawk’ emphasises the bird’s importance to the poem
- ‘Roosting’ means resting - the hawk must feel comfortable, safe and in control
‘I’
LANGUAGE:
- first person perspective - the hawk controls the poem
‘top of the wood’
IMAGERY:
- the hawk’s physical position could indicate its power - the hawk is the most powerful thing in the wood
- the bird could symbolise an imperial eagle which references the Nazis
‘falsifying dream’
LANGUAGE:
- falsifying means fake or misleading, the hawk does not need fake dreams as its reality is perfect
- the hawk is arrogant
‘hooked head’
‘hooked feet’
STRUCTURE:
- the repitition of ‘hooked’ emphasises the hawk’s potential for violence
- hooks are used to pierce and kill
- the hawk is weaponised from head to toe which makes the hawk a living weapon
‘Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills’
LANGUAGE:
- the hawk thinks about killing even in its sleep, emphasising its power and violence
- ‘perfect’ implies that it takes great pleasure from killing, which is psychotic
‘feet’
‘eat’
STRUCTURE:
- this is the only rhyming couplet and it emphasises the idea it contains - the hawk’s kills are precise and perfect suggesting the hawk is an expert at murder
‘convenience’
‘!’
‘advantage’
LANGUAGE:
- the hawk seems to think that the natural world has been designed just to suit it, showing its arrogance
- the exclamation mark used shows the hawk’s excitement and enjoyment
‘earth’s face upward for my inspection’
IMAGERY:
- the earth has been personified - by looking ‘upward’ it suggests that the hawk is above it both literally and hierarchically
- this is sinister because the hawk is ruthlessly violent
‘inspection’
LANGUAGE:
- inspectors have power over the things they inspect, suggesting they are superior - they cast judgement and can punish
- the hawk is looking for prey which is sinister and tyrannical
‘My feet are locked upon the rough bark’
IMAGERY:
- the hawk appears as sturdy, as locks are symbols of security and strength
‘locked’
‘bark’
STRUCTURE:
- the consonance emphasises the hawk’s firm, almost harsh, grip, as the consonance creates a harsh tone
‘It took the whole of Creation To produce my foot, my each feather:’
LANGUAGE:
- the hawk thinks that it is a masterpiece as it took all of God’s effort to create it - the hawk is arrogant
- ‘Creation’ is capitalised as it is a reference to God
‘Now I hold creation in my foot’
LANGUAGE:
- a reversal as the hawk believes it is more powerful than God and has power over nature
‘revolve it all slowly’
LANGUAGE:
- the hawk’s arrogance is highlighted, as it thinks it can force ‘creation’ to do what it wants
- it is making the whole world revolve around it
‘I kill where I please because it is all mine’
LANGUAGE:
- monosyllabic language suggests that the hawk is confident and comfortable with its power
- the hawk is sadistic
‘My manners are tearing off heads -‘
LANGUAGE:
- the juxtaposition between politeness and violence presents the hawk as a dictator-like figure because dictators are known to appear positively in public, and in private commit atrocities
- oxymoron
STRUCTURE:
- violence does not phase the hawk - it likes the power
- the dash presents the hawk as relaxed
‘The allotment of death.’
LANGUAGE:
- this line has a double meaning:
1. the hawk gives out (allots) death and this emphasises its power and arrogance and god-like status
2. the hawk ‘grows’ death, as in an ‘allotment’ (a plot of land where crops grow) - the juxtaposition is ironic and shows the hawk’s preoccupation with murder
