EXERCISE
1. Comment on the physical features and prowess of the hawk. Discuss their significance.
👉The hawk’s physical features and prowess are central to its sense of superiority in the poem. The hawk describes its “hooked head” and “hooked feet,” emphasizing the lethal design of its body for hunting and killing. It boasts that “the whole of Creation” worked to produce its perfect body, from its foot to “each feather,” and believes this physical perfection gives it the right to rule.
The significance of these features is that they are not just tools for survival but are seen by the hawk as proof of its divine authority and rightful place at the top of the food chain. Its physical abilities allow it to be a “god” who “allots death” without question.
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DELVE DEEP
1. “It took the whole of Creation /To produce my foot, my each feather /Now I hold Creation in my foot.” What does the hawk mean by saying that ‘the whole of Creation’ produced it? How does this statement reflect the hawk’s arrogance and sense of superiority? [3+3]
👉By stating that “it took the whole of Creation” to produce its body, the hawk is expressing its immense pride and arrogance. It sees itself as the pinnacle of evolution, a perfect being whose creation required all of nature’s creative power and effort. The hawk’s physical features, like its hooked beak and sharp talons, are meticulously designed for hunting, and it believes that this perfection is evidence of its supremacy.
The statement reflects the hawk’s arrogance by positioning itself as the ultimate authority and the center of the universe. The hawk is confident that it is the most powerful being in its environment and that it has an unquestionable right to kill and dominate. The line “Now I hold Creation in my foot” further emphasizes this sense of superiority, implying that the hawk now controls the very world that made it.
2. “No arguments assert my right / The sun is behind me” How can these lines be interpreted as a metaphor for dictatorship or absolute authority?
👉In this statement the poet indirectly compares the hawk’s world to that of humans. While human rights are established through argument, the hawk believes it does not need any argument to assert its right of killing other animals. This is compared to a dictator in human society who ignores reason and imposes absolute authority. The text acknowledges that this is a possible metaphorical interpretation, but it also notes that Ted Hughes himself refuted this analogy in his book.
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Extra Important DQ
*1. Justify the title of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.
👉The title “Hawk Roosting” is significant because it highlights the contrast between the hawk’s seemingly inactive state and its powerful, dominating inner monologue. The word “roosting” refers to the hawk resting or sitting at the top of a wood, appearing calm and still. However, this stillness is deceptive. The poem, a dramatic monologue from the hawk’s perspective, reveals that even while resting, the hawk’s mind is filled with thoughts of power, control, and its role as an apex predator.
The title also serves as a symbol of how powerful beings can appear tranquil on the surface while constantly being aware of their strength and authority. The hawk’s quiet moment of rest is not a peaceful one; rather, it is a moment for the hawk to contemplate its own unassailable power over the natural world. Therefore, the title effectively captures the central theme of the poem : the hawk’s absolute power and arrogance, even when it is not actively hunting. In consideration of that the title is quite appropriate and befitting.
*2. What pictures of violence and fierceness are drawn in the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’?
👉Ted Hughes portrays the hawk as a perfect killing machine created by nature for violent deaths. Its hooked beak and talons are used to tear off heads of other animals. The hawk’s slow rotation in the sky is meant for it to swoop down into the bones of living beings and cause violent death. Even when it is resting, it is rehearsing perfect and violent killing. In this way ruthless and violent pictures are presented in the poem.
3. What are the activities of hawk in the roosting condition? How does he describe his activities in flight? [3+3]
👉When the hawk is roosting in the top of the wood, it closes its eyes but assures that it is not daydreaming. In its dream, it rehearses the perfect killing of its prey and eating the flesh of hunted animals with its hooked beak and sharp talons.
During flight, the hawk flies high up in the sky and rotates slowly to observe the movement of its prey on the ground. Once it detects a victim, it swoops down at lightning speed and kills the animal by violently tearing off its head.
*4. What is meant by the expression “The allotment of death”? What does the hawk assure us of his activities in future? [4+2]
👉The expression “The allotment of death” refers to the role of a hawk as a predator in the food chain.
Nature is the creator of both life and death. Nature has also created a food-chain in which every animal has to depend on other animals or plants for its survival. At the top of this food-chain are the predators like the hawk which kills and eats. So nature has given the allotment of death to such animals for their survival. They have been created and designed to cause the death of other animals to keep the balance of nature.
The hawk’s future activity is assured by nature, as it is equipped with the necessary physical features and instincts to hunt and kill prey, thereby maintaining the balance of the ecosystem.
*5. “The convenience of the high trees” Why are the high trees convenient to the speaker? What other advantages does he get from nature? [3+3]
👉The high trees are convenient to the hawk because they provide a powerful vantage point. Perched at the very top of the wood, the hawk has a superior position from which it surveys its domain. From this elevated spot, it can inspect the earth below and look for prey.
Apart from the convenience of high trees, natural elements like air and sunlight are also advantageous for the hawk. The air with its buoyancy helps him to fly and float in the sky. The sun’s rays help him to observe the movements of his prey.
*6. What is the main or central theme of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’?
👉The central theme of the poem “Hawk Roosting” is the mindset of a predator, specifically the hawk. The poem explores the hawk’s perspective as a dominant and powerful creature at the top of the food chain. It delves into the hawk’s sense of superiority, its predatory nature, and the way it views the world and other creatures. Nature has created the hawk as a predator, a bird belonging to the top order of the food chain. The body and the mindset of the hawk are created by nature in such a way that it can be a perfect killer of other animals. There is no question of morality in his manners and behaviour. This mindset of the hawk constitutes the central theme of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.
*7. “There is no sophistry in my body” What does ‘Sophistry’ mean and for what purpose is it used? What does the hawk suggest about himself by this line? [2+4]
👉Sophistry means the use of clever but false arguments, typically with the intention of deceiving someone. The term is used to refer to a fallacious method of reasoning.
By stating “There is no sophistry in my body,” the hawk suggests that its actions are not based on deceit or clever deceptions. The hawk’s actions are honest, brutal, and instinctive, without any need for false justification or complex, deceptive reasoning. It is a creature of pure, raw nature and power, and its violent “manners are tearing off heads” is a direct and unapologetic part of its being, not something that needs to be concealed or justified with clever arguments.
*8. “The sun is behind me” What does this statement reveal about the hawk? How is the sun advantageous to the hawk? [4+2]
👉The statement reveals that the hawk is roosting in a position where the sun is just behind its back. The light source being at his back, it does not dazzle his eyes and helps him to detect the prey more clearly and perfectly. Once again, the sun behind him creates an aura all around the hawk and highlights his majesty and power. The sun is the reason behind the creation of every living being on earth. The statement may also refer to the sun’s silent indulgence in creating a perfect predator like the hawk.
The sun as a natural element is advantageous to the hawk as it provides the hawk enough light to enhance its visibility and helps to detect its prey on the ground.
9. “I am going to keep things like this” What ‘things’ are referred to here by the speaker? What arguments does he present in support of his promise? [3+3]
👉The “things” referred to by the hawk are its predatory existence and absolute dominance over its world. The hawk is the apex predator and believes it is the center of its universe, with all other life existing for its benefit. The hawk’s actions, such as killing its prey by “tearing off heads” and flying “direct through the bones of the living,” are not seen as cruel but as a natural right and its purpose.
The hawk presents two arguments in support of its promise–
(i) The hawk does not need any argument to assert its right to kill other animals.
(ii) The hawk believes that since it started killing its victims, nothing has changed in its body or in the environment, and its powerful and keen eyesight is primarily responsible for this unchangeability.
