Text of Hawk Roosting ,Summary of Hawk Roosting,
Bengali Meaning of Hawk Roosting
Hawk Roosting
Ted Hughes
About the Poet:
Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was one of the most influential British poets of the 20th century. His poetry is known for its powerful, vivid imagery, often focusing on nature and the raw, untamed forces of life. He was deeply interested in the relationship between the natural world and human existence. His works often explore themes of survival, violence, and the instinctual aspects of life. "Hawk Roosting" is a prime example of his fascination with nature and its ruthless, predatory aspects.
About the Poem:
"Hawk Roosting" is a dramatic monologue in which a hawk speaks as a symbol of power, dominance, and control. The poem explores themes of power, arrogance, natural order, and the brutality of existence. The hawk, perched at the top of the food chain, represents the idea of absolute power, seeing itself as the ultimate ruler of nature. The poem can be interpreted as a commentary on dictatorship, showing the mindset of an authoritarian ruler who believes in their divine right to control and dominate. It also reflects Hughes' view of nature as both beautiful and merciless, where survival depends on strength and instinct.
I sit in the top of the wood¹, my eyes closed.
Inaction, no falsifying dream²
Between my hooked head and hooked³ feet:
Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.
Wood: The hawk is at the highest point of the forest, symbolizing supreme power and control.
Dream: It does not indulge in self-deception or unnecessary thoughts.
Hooked: The repetition of "hooked" emphasizes the hawk's physical adaptations for hunting and killing.
Sleep: Even in sleep, the hawk is focused on its survival and dominance.
The convenience of the high trees!
The air's buoyancy and the sun's ray
Are of advantage to me;
And the earth's face upward for my inspection.
My feet are locked upon the rough bark.
It took the whole of Creation
To produce my foot, my each feather:
Now I hold Creation in my foot".
Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly
I kill where I please because it is all mine.
There is no sophistry' in my body:
My manners are tearing off heads
The allotment of death
For the one path of my flight is direct¹¹
Through the bones of the living.
No arguments assert my right:
The sun is behind me.
Nothing has changed since I began.
My eye has permitted no change
I am going to keep things like this
Buoyancy: The hawk acknowledges how nature supports its flight.
"Creation: The hawk claims that the entire universe worked to create it.
"My foot: The hawk suggests that it now controls the world, implying absolute power.
Kill: The hawk claims unrestricted freedom to kill.
Sophistry: Deceptive reasoning. The hawk claims that it is not deceitful but purely driven by instinct, unlike humans who justify their actions with complex reasoning.
Death: The hawk assigns death to others, reinforcing its god-like control over life and death.
"Direct: Unchallenged authority.
Change: Nothing disrupts its rule.
Like this: Final declaration of absolute power and control.

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