Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

Context

A
  • written in 1960
  • a poem which has created some misunderstanding in Hughes’ canon.
  • it established Hughes’ early reputation and some notoriety.
  • reputation for violence in his work.
  • Hughes remarked that the hawk sounds like hitler’s familiar to Plath. Plath referred to this in letters to her mother.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Subject

A

This is an austere poem about killing. It is a vision of the complete insanity of power.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Form and Structure

A

Form

  • Strong narrative presence in the poem.
  • Dramatic monologue delivered by a megalomaniac

Structure

  • Structure of the poem highlights the bird’s delusion:
  • The short, stabbing syntax and frequent use of spondees produces a language of manic certitude in the monologue.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Language Techniques

A

Imagery,
“Between my hooked head and hooked feet”

Language
-The hawk is unlike a human,
“There is no sophistry in my body:
My manners are tearing off heads-“
droid of consciousness 

-“No arguments assert my right”
killing by instinct-no guilt

-“I am going to keep things like this.”
The hawk glorifying in what it is, a killer.
Delusion that he is God.
Dramatic double-take effect like thought fox.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Mood

A

Intense

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly