Hawk Roosting Flashcards
Context point - Ted Hughes
English poet - poet laureate from 1984 to 1998 (his death)
Spent lots of his childhood outdoors - he enjoyed hunting, fishing and swimming
Fascinated by animals as a child - collected and drew toy animals.
His dad was a WW1 veteran - the violent imagery was influenced by him
The image of a bird sat atop a tree (‘The Imperial Eagle’) was a Nazi party symbol in WW2
What does the title “Hawk Roosting” suggest
Starting the poem’s title with “Hawk” emphasises the bird’s importance to the poem
“Roosting” = resting - the hawk must feel comfortable, safe, and in control
How does the poem being in the 1st person have an effect
The first-person perspective highlights how the hawk is in control, controlling the poem
What does the line “top of the wood” suggest
The hawk’s physical position could indicate its power
Links to the nazi context
Top of the food chain/ alpha
What does the line “no falsifying dreams” suggest
“falsifying” means fake
The hawk does not need ‘fake’ dreams as his reality is perfect
“in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat”
Makes the Hawks power and violence really emphatic
We could get the impression that the hawk is like a dictator or a psychopath, as it takes great pleasure from murdering and it is the only thing he thinks about
In reality, he lives as he is supposed to - he’s meant to kill
What does the rhyming couplet “hooked feet” and “kills and eat” suggest?
It emphasises the idea that it contains: the hawk’s kills are precise and perfect, just like the rhyming couplet; which makes the hawk sound like an expert in area of murder
What do the lines “convenience of the high trees!” and “earth’s face upward for my inspection” suggest
The hawk seems to think world has been designed just to suit it, showing its arrogance
The Earth has been personified. By looking “ upward”, it suggests that the hawk is above it both literally and hierarchically
“Inspection” - inspectors have power over the things they inspect - they cast judgement and punish
What are the lines referencing to “Creation”
It took the whole of Creation to produce my foot, my each feather: Now I hold Creation in my foot”
“It took the whole of Creation to produce my foot (…) Now I hole Creation in my foot”
Annotate this line
→ reference to God - capitalised “Creation” - repeated
→ the hawk thinks that it is a masterpiece and it took all of God’s effort to create it
→ the Hawk is arrogant
→ there is a reversal - the hawk thinks it is more powerful than God
Annotate the line: “I kill where I please because it is all mine.”
→ full stop at the end - the hawk’s say is final, nobody can convince it to say otherwise
→ he believes he is the ultimate ruler and has utmost power
Annotate the line: “my manners are tearing off heads”
Juxtaposition between “manners” (politeness) and “tearing off heads” (violence) presents the hawk as a dictator-like figure
“Tearing off heads” - violence does not phase the hawk, it likes power. He is being brutally honest.
What quotes show the hawk’s pride and arrogance?
“No sophistry in my body”
“I kill where I please because it is all mine”
“It took the whole of Creation to produce my foot”
“earth’s face upward for my inspection”
“The sun is behind me”
What could “the allotment of death” mean?
The hawk gives out (allots) death-this emphasises its power and arrogate and god-like status
→ he is able to play God and decide who lives and who dies
What is the effect of the personification “the sun is behind me”?
Suggests that the Sun supports the hawk, implying that it is right that the hawk has so much power
