Essay Questions

Why does Hughes write from the perspective of an animal in this poem?

Many of Hughes' poems are about the experiences of animals, as this was one of his key interests. His poem "Hawk Roosting" is written from the perspective of a hawk, giving the reader an insight into the mind of an animal, and what it might be concerned with within its daily life. As such, he chose to write from the perspective of an animal as it provides a more interesting viewpoint for the reader.

How is the Hawk different from a human speaker?

One way in which the hawk is different from a human speaker is his lack of emotions and sentimentality. The hawk is a predator and does not care about its prey. Here, Hughes is suggesting something about the brutality and cruelty of nature, as it does not have a human capacity for emotion.

What is the attitude of the hawk?

The hawk is positioned at the top of nature's hierarchy, as it is a predator. However, the hawk does not have any sympathy for those below him, instead believing that he is entitled to this position. For example, the hawk states "I kill where I please because it is all mine."

Explain the Hubris nature of the hawk in the poem "Hawk Roosting"?

Hubris is defined as an extreme level of pride or arrogance or we can say hubris is a state when one tries to fit into a divine form. In the poem "Hawk Roosting" the hawk is suffering from Hubris. The hubris of the hawk can be seen in many of the lines in this poem. The first hawk tells us where he lives, which is on heights. No illusion and in fact in sleep practicing perfect sleep and killing also refers to his hubris. Throughout the poem in many places he shows his hubris by saying that nature is at his service, his unique and beautiful physical appearance, his power of eyes used for inspection, has license to death, and his obsession with power, and eternity.

Describe the contextual analysis of Hawk Roosting keeping in mind the I-ness of the poem.

One of the prominent technical patterns used by Hughes to grab the reader’s attention is the use of the first personal pronoun “I” and its related forms “my, me, and mine” to reflect on the Hawk’s mental and psychological mind style. These pronouns serve as the opening and ending lines of the poem, and occur 21 times, thus standing as the most dominant rhetorical pattern. It is evident that if the narrator assumes the pronoun “I”, then the addressee assumes the “you” pronoun. However, it is notable that the usage of the pronoun “you” cannot be seen throughout the poem, so there is only one addressor in the form of the Hawk speaking to his addressee, who are the readers.

It can also be seen that the frequent repetition of the possessive pronoun “my” reflects the Hawk's selfish and controlling nature. The narrator/persona tries to assert himself and his recognized position among other elements of nature, so the use of the first personal pronoun indicates that nature and everything around him is advantages to the Hawk. These lines are also noteworthy due to their use of irony, where the Hawk ignores the concrete reality of nature as an uncontrollable and unpredictable force. ; “Nothing has changed since I began” [stanza 6] refers to an action with present results and consequently reflects the mystical process of the creation of the Hawk. Similarly, the word “Creation” in lines 10 and 22, refers first to a present and continuous process, and the eternity of the Hawk.

Nevertheless, the poet uses the present perfect tense, and the present continuous tense to refer to future actions as in the following examples: “Nothing has changed”, “My eye has permitted no change, and “I am going to keep things like this”. In the first line he says “I sit on the top of the wood”, the poet uses the word “sit” instead of “perch” to personify the bird like a ruling power. The use of “My feet are locked” in the third stanza instead of my claws personifies the Hawk and creates an image in the mind of the reader about the relationship between the human and the Hawk. Thus, the animate elements “feet” are given deviant inanimate features in an indication of the strength of the feet or maybe personification of a human being.