Hawk Roosting - Ted Hughes

Question 1

when was this poem written?

Answer 1

1960

Question 2

themes?

Answer 2

• power
• nature
• death - death is presented as natural in this poem
• religion - the hawk thinks itself to be like a God

Question 3

poet context

Answer 3

• highly celebrated English poet - was poet laurate from 1984 to his death in 1998
• 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 growing up in the countryside
• the violent imagery that appears in Hughes’ writing is influenced by his father, who was a WW1 veteran
• a ‘war poet once removed’ as he felt the impact of WW1
• the image of a bird sat atop a tree (‘The Imperial Eagle’) was a Nazi party symbol in WW2
• Hughes completed his National Service between 1949 and 1951; it was relatively peaceful
• studied anthropology and archaeology at university
• had many different jobs before becoming a famous poet, including working at a zoo