Hawk Roosting - Context

Question 1

who wrote the poem?

Answer 1

ted hughes

Question 2

when was the poem published?

Answer 2

1960

Question 3

ted hughes

Answer 3

• highly celebrated English poet
• poet laureate from 1984-1998 (his death)
• completed his national service between 1949 and 1951 - relatively peaceful
• has done many jobs - including working at a zoo

Question 4

how was ted hughes’ childhood? what were his hobbies?

Answer 4

• spent most of his life living in rural areas and spent lots of his childhood outdoors
• enjoyed hunting, fishing and swimming
• fascinated by animals as a child
• collected and drew toy animals and helped his brother when he went shooting
• was aware of the harsh realities of living/growing up in the countryside

Question 5

what is the violent imagery in hughes’ writing influenced by?

Answer 5

• his father, a WW1 veteran
• the image of a bird sat atop a tree - a Nazi party symbol in WW2

Question 6

what is hughes also referred to as and why?

Answer 6

• ‘a war poet once removed’
• didn’t fight in WW1 but was part of the generation which felt the impact of war

Question 7

what is the poem about?

Answer 7

• the poem focuses on a hawk boasting about its power. the hawk thinks that it’s the most important and powerful creature in the world and that it controls the universe
• the hawk describes how it likes to kill its prey in a particularly violent way
• people have interpreted the poem in different ways - could be an allegory for the behaviour of political leaders of people in general, or it could be showing the brutality of nature

Question 8

which themes are present in the poem?

Answer 8

• nature
• faith and worship
• negative emotions