hawk roosting

Question 1

who wrote the poem?

Answer 1

Ted Hughes

Question 2

what are the main themes of the poem?

Answer 2

• death
• negative emotions
• nature
• power and control

Question 3

what did Hughes say the poem was/wasn’t about?

Answer 3

he said it wasn’t about cruelty he just wanted to show a hawk’s ‘natural way of thinking’

Question 4

what are the possible links?

Answer 4

• ozymandias (pride/power)
• to autumn (nature)
• afternoons (nature)
• death of a naturalist (nature + the scary side of it)
• prelude (nature)

Question 5

what are the main feelings and attitudes in the poem?

Answer 5

• power
• arrogance

Question 6

how is the hawk presented as?

Answer 6

powerful and destructive. its power has been unchallenged and it is confident that nothing will change - however because it is part of nature, it will inevitably lose its power when it dies. the fact that the hawk doesn’t seem to know this could suggest that it isn’t as powerful as it thinks

Question 7

what is the poem about?

Answer 7

the poem focuses on a hawk boasting about its power. the hawk thinks that its the most important and powerful creature in the world and that it controls the universe. the hawk describes how it wants to kill its prey in a particularly violent way. people have interpreted the poem in different ways - some see it as an allegory for the behaviour of political leaders or people in general (though hughes denies this) or it can be seen as being about the brutality of nature (as hughes intended)

Question 8

what does the hawk compare himself to?

Answer 8

a god - taking pride in the fact that he can choose who lives and who dies

Question 9

what is the form of the poem?

Answer 9

free verse (maybe shows that the hawk doesn’t respect rules or is unpredictable?), dramatic monologue

Question 10

what perspective is the poem from and what does it do?

Answer 10

first person narrative (as the hawk) which gives the hawk authority over the poem’s ideas

Question 11

why does Hughes use end-stopped lines?

Answer 11

gives it a decisive feel, reflecting on the Hawk’s complete control

Question 12

what is the structure of the poem?

Answer 12

6 4-line stanzas - clearly organised which reflects the hawk’s control over his life and land

Question 13

what kind of language is used in the poem?

Answer 13

violent language and language of power (as well as formal and political language)

Question 14

how does the hawk kill its prey?

Answer 14

it uses violent tactics and rejects subtlety and deception

Question 15

what kind of attitude does the hawk have?

Answer 15

an egotistical and arrogant attitude - it believes it’s superior to both nature and God. it’s unclear if its confidence is legitimate or not

Question 16

why do first person pronouns appear in each stanza?

Answer 16

it shows the hawk as being dominant and in control

Question 17

what does the use of formal and political language do?

Answer 17

it presents the hawk as an articulate speaker which emphasises its power

Question 18

what is the first stanza?

Answer 18

I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed. / Inaction, no falsifying dream / Between my hooked head and hooked feet: / Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.

Question 19

why is the title ‘Hawk Roosting’?

Answer 19

the image of the hawk suggests power (apex predator). the verb ‘roosting’ implies that the hawk feels at home and is comfortable on his perch

Question 20

what are the annotations of ‘top of the wood’?

Answer 20

shows that he is at the top of the food chain, and as well as being physically up high it symbolises its powerful position over the rest of nature

Question 21

what are the annotations of ‘my eyes closed’?

Answer 21

• he doesn’t need to look at the world to know his place in it; he is almost meditating on his success
• suggests that the hawk is at peace and knows it has nothing to fear because of its power

Question 22

what are the annotations of ‘no falsifying dream’?

Answer 22

• reality is better than dreaming for him
• ‘falsifying’ shows the hawk’s eloquence which emphasises its power

Question 23

what are the annotations of ‘hooked head and hooked feet’?

Answer 23

repetition suggests he is in control (his claws are sunk in) and it emphasises the hawk’s powerful features.

Question 24

what are the annotations of ‘in sleep rehearse perfect kills’?

Answer 24

it emphasises the hawks power and violence as he is constantly thinking of death

Question 25

what does the only rhyming couplet in the poem ('feet' and 'eat' in the second and third lines) do?

Answer 25

it emphasises how perfect its kills are

Question 26

what is the second stanza?

Answer 26

The convenience of the high trees! / The air's buoyancy and the sun's ray / Are of advantage to me; / And the earth's face upward for my inspection.

Question 27

what are the annotations of 'convenience of the high trees'?

Answer 27

suggests that nature has been designed specifically for the hawk

Question 28

what does the exclamation of 'The convenience of the high trees!' do?

Answer 28

shows that he enjoys his position of power

Question 29

what are the annotations of 'advantage'?

Answer 29

continues to suggest that all aspects of nature are there for the hawk's ease

Question 30

what are the annotations of 'the earth's face upward'?

Answer 30

the hawk both literally and figuratively looks down on everything

Question 31

what are the annotations of 'my inspection'?

Answer 31

- arrogant tone; he is even scrutinising the earth - sounds sinister and tyrannical

Question 32

what is the third stanza?

Answer 32

My feet are locked upon the rough bark. / It took the whole of Creation / To produce my foot, my each feather: / Now I hold Creation in my foot

Question 33

what are the annotations of 'locked upon the rough bark.'?

Answer 33

- verb shows his power and links to the idea of a dictator 'locking down' on others' freedom - harsh consonance (loCKed and barK) emphasises the Hawk's tight grip and perhaps his cruelty

Question 34

what are the annotations of 'Now I hold Creation in my foot'?

Answer 34

- repetition of 'Creation' and capitalisation of it emphasises his arrogance and his delusions of being a god - also sounds as though he believes god had to work hard to create him, but he now sees both nature and god as tiny prey - highlights the hawk's pride

Question 35

what is the fourth stanza?

Answer 35

Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly - / I kill where I please because it is all mine. / There is no sophistry in my body: / My manners are tearing off heads -

Question 36

what are the annotations of 'revolve it all slowly'?

Answer 36

- 'revolve' suggests he believes the world revolves just for him - 'it' refers to 'Creation' - ideas of power flow from one stanza to the next which emphasise how it is his main concern

Question 37

what are the annotations of 'I kill where I please because it is all mine.'?

Answer 37

simple, mainly monosyllabic language which creates a sense of control and shows his selfish and power obsessed nature

Question 38

what are the annotations of 'there is no sophistry in my body'?

Answer 38

no false arguments - links to the arrogance in the first stanza, he thinks he is perfect

Question 39

what are the annotations 'my manners are tearing off heads'?

Answer 39

- oxymoron juxtaposes politeness with extreme violence to shock the reader - brutally honest - shows his brutality

Question 40

what is the fifth stanza?

Answer 40

The allotment of death. / For the one path of my flight is direct / Through the bones of the living. / No arguments assert my right:

Question 41

what do the dashes in the fourth stanza do?

Answer 41

slow down the pace of the poem - the hawk seems relaxed and confident

Question 42

what are the annotations of 'the allotment of death'?

Answer 42

shows that the hawk can 'play god' and chooses who dies and who lives, and shows the hawk's constant pursuit of killing

Question 43

what are the annotations of 'through the bones of the living'?

Answer 43

- violent image of the hawk killing its prey - contrast between 'bones' and 'living' reminds the reader he has the power to take life away

Question 44

what are the annotations of 'No arguments assert my right:'?

Answer 44

- frequent use of negative statements suggests the hawk is rejecting the rules of society - links to dictatorship - no one else has a say or can challenge him

Question 45

what is the last stanza of the poem?

Answer 45

The sun is behind me. / Nothing has changed since I began. / My eye has permitted no change. / I am going to keep things like this.

Question 46

what are the annotations of 'The sun is behind me'?

Answer 46

double meaning - suggests the hawk believes the sun supports it and reinforces its self-importance

Question 47

what are the annotations of 'Nothing has changed'?

Answer 47

links to the circle of life - his reign will never end

Question 48

what are the annotations of 'since I began'?

Answer 48

emphasises the hawk's control - suggests it has had absolute power throughout its whole existence

Question 49

what are the annotations of 'My eye'?

Answer 49

parts of the hawk have been described throughout the poem, it's perfectly adapted to be powerful

Question 50

what are the annotations of 'permitted'?

Answer 50

shows he is in charge and he decides the rules of nature (or at least he believes that)

Question 51

what are the annotations of 'I am going to keep things like this'?

Answer 51

- first and final sentence of poem start with 'I' - framing device - reflects hawk's arrogance - creates a sense of certainty as the hawk believes it can keep the world the way it is which is ironic as the reader knows it can't control everything - arrogant tone to end the poem which reinforces his need for power and control

Question 52

what do the end stopped lines in the final stanza do?

Answer 52

they give the sentences a matter-of-fact tone