Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes

Question 1

What is the poem about?

Answer 1

‘Hawk Roosting’ was written by the British poet Ted Hughes and published in his 1960 collection Lupercal. The poem is written as a dramatic monologue from the viewpoint of a hawk. The poem explores the hawk’s ruthless nature and its indifference to the passing of time. Through the hawk’s perspective, the poem explores both its primal instincts and the natural order.

Question 2

Stanza 1

Answer 2

The first-person persona, an anthropomorphised hawk, describes its position at the top of the wood, eyes closed

Question 3

Stanza 2

Answer 3

The hawk appreciates its advantageous position in the high trees and views the earth below; the tone is arrogant as if nature is its own domain

Question 4

Stanza 3

Answer 4

It reflects on its creation with a self-reverential tone and claims to hold all of “Creation” in its feet; the biblical allusion here suggests its sense of God-like authority and dominance

Question 5

Stanza 4

Answer 5

The hawk asserts its dominance with a remorseless description of its right to kill

Question 6

Stanza Five

Answer 6

The hawk describes its role in the “allotment of death” with ominous precision

Question 7

Stanza 6

Answer 7

The hawk asserts its right to a seemingly timeless domination

Question 8

Language

Answer 8

• Personification is central to the poem as the hawk is given human thoughts and speech enabling the reader to enter its predatory mindset
• Violent imagery through phrases like “tearing off heads” and “through the bones of the living” convey the hawk’s brutal nature
• Repetition of the first person “I” and “my” reinforce the hawk’s dominance
• Alliteration such as “hooked head and hooked feet” emphasises the hawk’s predatory attributes
• The language is blunt and monosyllabic reflecting the hawk’s brutal nature
• Short declarative sentences are used to convey the hawk’s confidence

Question 9

Structure

Answer 9

End-stopped lines and enjambment create a balance between assertive statements and flowing thoughts, which echoes the bird’s flight

Question 10

Form

Answer 10

• The poem is written in free verse
• It is a first-person dramatic monologue from the hawk’s perspective, giving insight into its inner consciousness

Question 11

Nature