Essay on Hawk Roosting

Amanda Dye
Mrs. Varnish
AP Literature; period 8
November 13, 2014
A.M.D.G. 50
Personification in “Hawk Roosting” The hawk in Ted Hughes’ “Hawk Roosting” personifies a powerful and controlling appearance. Hughes was an English writer throughout the 1950’s and 1980’s. He attended Cambridge University to further his academic studies into English literature. He developed an enormous passion for animals as he got older and started to embody their essence in his poetry (Stade & Karbeiner). His writing was very cynical, written in rough, harsh lines emphasizing the scheming and savagery of animal life. His most momentous poem, “Hawk Roosting,” manifests this idea perfectly. This poem was published in 1960 as part of Hughes’ second volume of poetry, Lupercal (Stade & Karbeiner). The hawk in “Hawk Roosting” is obsessed with the power and control he believes he holds, and he views himself as being more substantial than God, which highlights the theme of satire. The theme of power and control are prevalent in the thoughts of the hawk. Hughes was extremely fascinated with World War One because both his father and his eldest brother served in the war. He grew up surrounded by topics and conversations having to deal with this conflict. His poems reflect the violence of the war. He relates the hawk to one of Hitler’s Nazi followers. He makes Nazism seem common and natural to the reader (Kendall). “I kill where I please because it is all mine-- / There is no sophistry in my body: / My manners are tearing off heads--“ (14-16). Hughes personifies the hawk as a dominating power. The hawk feels no emotions when he is preying on the creatures below him. He feels as if he does not have to justify his actions of killing the innocent animals that live on the ground. Hughes focuses on the active violence rather than the future suffering of the hawk’s victims. He tries to shock society with the insight about the war and life itself. When killing the Jews, most of the Nazis did not think about their violent actions. They had no remorse quite like the hawk in this poem. “I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed. / Inaction, no falsifying dream” (1-2). The hawk has a sense of superiority over the rest of creation. He sees himself as the center of the universe and creates an impression of arrogance. He believes nature is created for his own purposes and to suit his own needs. He also feels a sense of security and immortality knowing that he can keep his eyes closed above the world without being harmed (Williams). The hawk feels as if he is controlling his prey’s life when he uses the phrase “allotment of death” (17). Here is where his confidence shines through. He is hinting at how nothing can change the rights he possesses. He decides when and how his prey will die, the prey itself never has any say. There is no sense of pity for his prey or any second-guessing before he acts on his instincts. The hawk lives according to the rules of his own mortality. He is engrossed in the anticipation of being all-powerful. The hawk relates himself closely to the image of God as if he is being omnipotent. The hawk explains his position to the world when he says: “My feet are locked upon the rough bark” (9). The hawk’s view of nature is aerial while he is sitting in the skies looking over the rest of the world. As the reader knows, the only person who has this teleological view of the world is God himself (Williams). The hawk touches on the fact that his home is above the rest of the world just like how God resides in Heaven. The idea that the hawk is comparing himself to God is reinforced when the hawk says: “ It took the whole of Creation / To produce my foot, my each feather: / Now I hold Creation in my foot” (10-12). The arrogance and superiority of the hawk are pushed to the limit when he implies that he is God. He views himself as flawless, when in reality, God is the only being who is perfect. Hughes puts an emphasis on the word “Creation” by

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