The hawk uses a lot of pompous-sounding phrases like The convenience of the high trees! /...of advantage to me/...for my inspection. They help emphasise the proud attitude of the hawk. He sounds a bit like a businessman wanting to impress a rival.
There is a lot of emphasis on the hawk's mastery of all he sees. He speaks in a very exaggerated way: I hold Creation in my foot...I revolve it [Creation] all slowly...it is all mine. This stresses the hawk's feeling that he alone is dominant. Do you think that the poet agrees with the hawk?
The hawk speaks in very direct statements, as if he is used to being in control. I kill where I please... No arguments assert my right... He is very definite and assured in his ideas.
The poem is written in the present tense, as if the hawk is talking to us now. I sit... I kill...It helps make the poem more immediate and powerful: we feel that the hawk is addressing us directly.
The poem when read aloud sounds a bit like a politician's speech, because it follows the speech patterns of someone who wants to make an impression. There are some longer sentences which set out his claims (for example, The air's buoyancy and the sun's ray / Are of advantage to me), and some short statements (The allotment of death...The sun is behind me) which make a strong impact. Look at the last stanza: it is made up of four single-sentence lines, which state the hawk's case very strongly and need to be read slowly and seriously. What idea of the hawk do they leave us with?
The poem is written in six regular stanzas. Perhaps the regularity and order of the stanzas reminds us of the control the hawk claims to have over the world.
Ideas and attitudes
Now that you have looked at the poem carefully, what impressions do you have of the hawk?
- He is very self-satisfied and proud.
- He has no qualms about killing, because he is the controller and owner of everything - he has no regard for any life but his own.
- The poet may be scared that one creature can claim so much power over its fellow creatures.
- He sounds very authoritative, believing he is like a god.
- The poet is questioning exactly what the nature of a god/creator is.
-
The poet is making the point that man (who believes himself capable of most of the things the hawk claims to do) is over-reaching himself. Nothing/nobody should control all of Creation like that.
Write about Hawk Roosting, focusing especially on the attitude of the hawk.
Teacher's Note
You could comment on:
- how language is used
- the form and structure
Now make some notes on Hawk Roosting, as if you were going to answer this question in the exam.
- Allow yourself ten minutes.
-
Remember Point - Quote - Comment (Make a point, support it with a quotation and then explain how the language helps to add to the line's effectiveness.)
The Answer
From the very outset, it is clear that the hawk is in control. The poem begins assertively with the pronoun I. The hawk is so secure in his position that he is able to announce the fact that he is resting, inaction, with his eyes closed. There is no falsifying dream - he has nothing to hide - between his hooked head and hooked feet. The repetition of hooked puts the reader on guard - it sounds slightly sinister. This idea is confirmed when the hawk goes on to say that his dreams are single-minded: he rehearses perfect kills. He is portrayed almost like a military dictator.
The irony in the statement My manners are tearing off heads is intentional: the hawk actually seems proud of the fact that he does not worry about the way he eats, about how violently he rips up his victims before consuming them. He is so proud that 'manners' have ceased to matter. Someone in his unassailable position does not need to consider whom he might be offending. The statement simply emphasises his sense of absolute superiority.
