hawk roosting

the text of the poem is on page 29 of your books

some introductory thoughts on what the poem is about

The poem presents a hawk which talks and reflects on its existence and way of life - it's a hawkish monologue!

Hawks are fast-flying birds of prey (birds which kill other creatures to eat), and are traditionally celebrated by poets for the powerful beauty of their flight.

This poem vividly presents the hawk's prowess as a killer - it's ruthlessly effective as a bird of prey.

The hawk is confident in its own importance - it's the centre of its own world.

The hawk asserts its natural dominance over other creatures, namely its prey. As in many poems by Ted Hughes, nature is shown as a force operating along very basic lines of instinct, survival and process, rather than according to any of the 'higher' impulses which humans value, and often attribute to impressive or appealing creatures.

The final lines present the hawk's celebration of its assigned place in the ecosystem, its sense of dominion.

The poem gives us a portrait of this bird of prey: a rational instinctive killer with no scruples about its efficiency in ending the lives of other creatures so it can eat and survive. Notice the simple language of the last line - 'I am going to keep things like this'. A hawk has always been a killer and always will be. That's just the natural order of things.

Interestingly, this poem was often one which Ted Hughes featured in his public readings. Sometimes when he introduced the poems to his audience, he would say that this hawk represented the whole of the natural world. It is secure in the unchanging place it occupies in the ecosystem.

It’s also easy to read this poem as some sort of commentary on the ‘ethics’ of the natural world and the innate violence fundamental to the way that some creatures live. Significantly, the hawk makes no apologies for its killing. Many readers have sensed disturbing parallels between the hawk's operations and those of violent or dictatorial humans. What do you think?

some questions to consider

Why do you think Hughes gives the hawk a mixture of simple and more complex language (for example, in the first two lines)?

What in line 4 does the hawk dream about?

Why does the hawk find the tall trees convenient? How do the hawk's words in this second stanza underline its self-importance? How do you feel about what the hawk says in this stanza?

What is 'the earth's face'?

What do you understand by the word 'Creation' in stanza 3, and why is it a proper noun here, with a capital letter?

What technical trick does Hughes use between stanzas 3 and 4 to suggest the rapid flight of the hawk?

'it is all mine' - really? Why does the hawk say this?

What do you understand by the word 'sophistry' in stanza 4? How does it link with the word 'manners'?

Do you find the hawk's straight-talk funny at any point? If so, why?

'No arguments assert my right', says the hawk - why does Hughes imagine it saying this?

Why is the hawk keen to tell us that 'nothing has changed' since the beginning of its existence? And why, going forward, does the hawk want nothing to change?

Is there any possible irony in the final line? Could the hawk keep things as it wanted, without any threat?

Think about and explore the poem's structure. How do the short, regular stanzas contribute to the overall portrait of the hawk? Why might that form be appropriate for this speaker?

Ted Hughes has written the imaginary monologue of a hawk - does the way the hawk speaks remind you of any sort of human character, and if so what sort?

Why does the hawk speak in the present tense in this poem?

Are you familiar with the clichéd contrast between 'hawks' and 'doves' and the word 'hawkish'? How does Hughes's poem add to or change your understanding of such words?

Why as humans do we constantly assign human-like voices and thoughts to other creatures? And do other creatures help us to understand ourselves better?

How does Hughes's portrayal of a hawk differ from more conventional poems about impressive birds (see examples in the links below)? Which picture is more appealing in your opinion, and why?

some creative writing to help you understand the poem more deeply

Why not try writing your own poem about a bird of prey, or about any other bird which you find interesting? What might you want to copy from Hughes? Or will you want to take a different approach?

poems on related topics by Ted Hughes

Hughes's first book of poems is called The Hawk in the Rain. Why do you think hawks, and birds in general, fascinated Hughes so much? This poem Hawk Roosting, comes from his second volume of poems, so in a sense it extends (and clarifies) themes already covered in the poem Hawk in the Rain, from the first book (not included in your New Selected Poems 1957 - 1994).

Poems featuring crows from the volume Crow, in your books. See, for example, Lineage (p. 90 in your books), for another view of the ‘brutal’ capacity of birds.