Hawk Roosting Flashcards
Context
Animal is metaphor for power
Celebrates animals in natural habitat
balance in nature
links to spirituality
Wife attempted suicide many times
Structure
dramatic monologue
six four-line stanzas called quatrains
free verse, to reflect the autonomy of the hawk which can speak as it wishes and not be constrained by poetic conventions.
Language and Imagery
monosyllabic, with mainly hard masculine consonants
It is in the first person, the hawk speaking to the reader, who is able to infer from what it says the brutality of the bird’s nature
rhyming couplet, internal rhyme and assonance to give the poem unity
Tone
Dictatorial and Brutal
I sit in the top o…
I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.
‘I’, Hughes shows that the hawk is asserting its superiority
It dismisses God and Mother Nature and is totally focused on itself - metaphorically above them
irony as the term hawk-eyed usually signifies sharp-eyed
hawk is so powerful and confident that it can afford to relax
anthropomorphism - human thoughts to an animal
Between my hooked head an…
Between my hooked head and hooked feet:
‘ee’ sounds of ‘between’ and ‘feet’, may be imitating the sound of the hawk’s cry
long, double vowel is repeated
repetition of ‘hooked’ is for emphasis
The convenienc…
The convenience of the high trees!
Elements seem to be made for his benefit
The hawk seems to dominate nature
Unexpected syntax presents the hawks arrogance to twist conventional literature.
My feet are lo…
My feet are locked
immovable force of nature
clipped and monosyllabic, with hard consonants
My manners ar…
callous view of the world
oxymoron, as killing and good manners are mutually exclusive
caesura could resemble the quick beheading of the hawk’s prey
direct
Through the …
direct
Through the bones of the living.
Like a bullet or a drill
Graphic image
Rhyme gives cohesion alluding to the control of the hawk
It doesn’t need to make excuses
The sun is…
The sun is behind me.
seen as a justification for its violent actions - implying it agrees with methods
Like a dictator suggesting power is god given
Could be the hawk in a position which precedes the sun - an advantage when hunting
Could represent the hawk-like Egyptian sun-god Horus - suggesting he is a god too
Sun could be an image of light therefore it is behind him as he has lack of morality
“a place in the sun” German politics - written just after WW2 so Hughes would likely be inspired by this ideology.
Nothing has chan…
Nothing has changed since I began.
The hawk has always been and remains in authority
Outlines hierarchy of woods - apex predator
full stop, or end stop, is representative of the hawk’s definitive ideology that it is the most important thing in Creation
Full stop is almost questioning you to challenge him.
