H Is For Hawk

Question 1

Displays her grief through emotive language:
“The last few seconds before a battle”
“”like..frills of a fretful porcupine”

Answer 1

“The last few seconds before a battle”
-timed adverbial demonstrates her obsession with time
-uses hyperbole of battle to emphasize the mental difficulty, as of liek a battle
-hyperbole also creates a melodramatic tone

“Like.. frills of a fretful porcupine”
-similie is used to perhaps compare to a porcupine who is scared, highlights her self awareness
-refers to herself as a porcupine where the “fretful frills” highlight her own outbursts of grief,
-emphasized by alliteration
-so referred to an animal to demonstrate how she is aware her behaviour has been feral, and unlike her usual self due to her fathers death.
-allusion to hamlet, where he sees his fathers ghost appear from death, to emphasize the mourning

Question 2

Stunned by the first hawk
“a great flood of sunshine drenches us”
“A griffon” “illuminated bestiary”

Answer 2

-use of pathetic fallacy highlights the overwhelming effect that the hawk has had on her
-also emphasizes its power, as if it is similar to that of the power that a “flood” has
-imagery of sunshine suggests that the hope brings about a sense of hope in her
-creates a god like imagery, where paired with the semantic field of nature, emphasizes how she looks up to the hawk
-how the hawk has brought her back to her spirituality, contrast to previous feelings of instability

“A griffon”
-metaphor highlights the majesty of the hawk
-semantic field of fairy tale, suggests her awe at the hawk
-alternatively t’s highlights how she is so bemused by the hawk, it is completely distracting her from her grief

Question 3

Feelings of disdain for the second hawk
“Smokier and darker”
“this isn’t my hawk”
“Instead of twittering; she wailed”

Answer 3

-“smokier and darker”
-uses comparitive to highlight how she is reminiscing upon the previous hawk,
-semantic field of evil highlights how she is uncomfortable with this bird
-bird perhaps parallel to her new life without her dad
-thus uses the adjective darker, to describe how she is unable to think clearly and is much more upset

“This isn’t my hawk”
—) repetition of the phrase emphasizes her disdain for the hawk”
-) definite article is objectifying, accentuates how she does not want it

“Instead of twittering; she wailed”
-use of two separate clauses emphasizes the difference between the two,
-aided by the juxtaposition of a pleasant sound like “twittering” and less pleasant sound “wailed”
-semi colon creates an abrupt change in pace, to again display automatic disapproval.
-onaompeopia of wailed suggests the authors disdain

Question 4

Engages reader through description of anticipation and anxiety
“Thump” in italics
“Lines 14-15”

“But I… Could I?

Answer 4

“thump” in italics, to highlight the anticipation
-single worded sentence accentuates the moment and slows the pace, to create suspense of what is to come.
-heavy sound suggest the bird is of great strength, so further engages the reader.
-appeals to sensory imagery to engage the reader into surroundings
- line 14-15”Uses asyndetic listing to create a fast pace and emphasize the tension and the noise and frenzy surrounding the moment when she first sees the bird

“But I…Could I?”
creates a sense of anxiety
-Rhetorical questions suggests her anticipation and doubt, which encourages the reader to also feel doubt
-elipsis emphasizes a sense of anxiety
-repetition of the personal pronoun “I”, suggests her unstable mind and insecurity, creates empathy for the reader