Hawk Roosting Flashcards
Beginning quote 1
“Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat”
Thinks about killing in sleep emphasises the power of nature.
Only rhyme in the entire poem “feet” and “eat” emphasising how perfect his kills are.
Beginning quote 2
(stanza two language)
Language of convenience:
“convenience of the high trees!”
“the earth’s face upward for my inspection”
It seems the world had been built to suit him, showing the natural patterns in nature where everything has a place.
Middle quote 1
“It took the whole of Creation / To produce my foot, my each feather”
A tone of pride, suggesting that God himself spent time to make everything convenient for the Hawk.
Middle quote 2
“My manners are tearing off heads-“
Oxymoron juxtaposes politeness with brutality to shock the reader. The use of dashes creates a sense of arrogance as the hawk believes nothing is in his way.
End quote 1
“No arguments assert my right”
The Hawk is rejecting the rules of society. Many argue that this poem is to do with human nature - especially the sense of entitlement that politicians have.
End quote 2
“The sun is behind me”
This could be an allusion to the famous quote about the British Empire: ‘the sun never sets on the British Empire’ emphasising how the Hawk feels it could control the entire world.
Who wrote Hawk Roosting?
Ted Hughes
Context of Hawk Roosting
This poem caused some controversy when it was published as many thought it was about politics. However Hughes denied this saying that he intended the voice to be nature expressing itself.
Published in 1960
Form of Hawk Roosting
It is a dramatic monologue. The first person POV of the hawk gives the hawk a sense of authority.
Extra Quotes 1 + 2?
“no falsifying dream”
“I kill where I please because it is all mine”
