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READ THIS
A hawk sits atop a tree in a forest, meditating his place in creation. He sees himself as the pinnacle of
the universe, around whom everything revolves.
He is a deadly killing machine, born to kill, born to rule the world. Or is this man we are talking about?
ABOUT THE POET
Ted Hughes was born in 1930 in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire. His early years were lived in a rural
setting where he learnt the love of nature and its creatures.
He would later study at Cambridge University where he and some fellow students produced a poetry
journal. It was at the launch of this journal that he met the American poet, Sylvia Plath, whom he soon
married.
Hughes believed that poetry and magic were intertwined. Each is a healer. Each is the means to
transport the human spirit from the dark, subconscious side of human nature into the world of light and
well-being.
Poetry therefore lies in the realm of creation, in the world of everyday miracles. It is the pathway into the
domain of the imagination, the journey into the inner universe and exploration of the genuine self.
The modern world, said Hughes, overvalues the rational, objective side of human nature. Such beliefs
cause fear and pain. Healing and renewal, on the other hand, are the true purpose of poetry and magic.
The poet is therefore a shaman -- a magical medicine man who makes journeys to the underworld of
the subconscious to bring back lost souls.
His wife, Sylvia Plath, committed suicide in February 1963 and her death affected Hughes profoundly.
It would take four years before he published again -- and this collection contained some truly bleak
poems.
Hughes died of a heart attack in October 1998 while undergoing treatment for colon cancer. He was 68
years of age.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.
Inaction, no falsifying dream
Between my hooked head and hooked feet:
Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.
- What does the poet mean when he says that the hawk is "roosting"? (2)
[Need help?]
When a bird "roosts", it sits comfortably through the night on a branch or other high perch, perhaps
sleeping.
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- What does the hawk dream about? (2)
[Need help?]
The hawk says that he doesn't have what he calls "falsifying dreams" like you and me, dreams that
are imaginary and fantastic.
Instead, his dreams are realistic -- all about killing and eating.
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- What word tells you that the hawk is not moving? (1)
[Need help?]
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.
- Why should the high trees be a "convenience" to the hawk? (2)
[Need help?]
Hawks and eagles like to sit in high places -- like the tops of trees or telegraph poles -- so that they can
survey the world for movement.
Movement, of course, means that a mouse, a rat or perhaps a dassie is foraging for food.
The high place allows the hawk to sit unnoticed, but he can then dive down with little effort and capture
his prey.
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- How are the air's "buoyancy" and the sun's rays an advantage to the
hawk? (4)
[Need help?]
One usually thinks of water when one thinks of buoyancy. Indeed, buoyancy means that one can float.
A bird, however, can also float on the air. Hawks and eagles do this regularly: floating on the air and
watching the ground below for movement. Eagles apparently can lock their wings so that they can float
effortlessly.
If the sun is high in the sky, it will hide the hawk. The mouse or shrew on the ground will be blinded by
the rays of the sun and will not see the hawk hovering in the sky above.
The mouse or dassie moves and, before he knows what's happening, the hawk has catapulted out of the
sun and has captured him.
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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.
- Explain how the hawk's feet can be "locked upon the rough bark". (2)
[Need help?]
Have a look at the picture in the left column.
The hawk has powerful talons which can grip the bark on the branch, or sink into the flesh of his prey so
as to carry it off as a tasty morsel.
Once these talons have gripped the bark, they become locked so that nothing can shift the hawk from his
perch.
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- Comment on the hawk's attitude as revealed in this verse. (4)
[Need help?]
The hawk sees itself as the pinnacle or end-point of creation. Creation was intended to evolve into the
hawk. Once the hawk has evolved, however, he then owns and controls creation.
A very egotistical attitude, is it not?
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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 --
- What does the word "it" refer to in the line "because it is all mine"? (2)
[Need help?]
The hawk is referring to Creation, isn't he?
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- When the hawk says, "There is no sophistry in my body", he means:
A. he is well mannered;
B. his looks do not deceive you;
C. his body is highly sophisticated;
D. the hawk is not in any way proud of his body.
[Need help?]
His looks do not deceive you.
A cat has sophistry. Look at a cat and you see a soft, gentle, cuddly thing which purrs when you stroke
her.
She is a killing machine nevertheless! Ask any mouse!
Look at a hawk, on the other hand, and all you see is a killing machine. What you see is what you get!
A hawk therefore does not hide his killing ability like a cat does, but rather shows it off proudly to the world.
Its looks do not deceive you!
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- Why does the hawk say that his manners "are tearing off heads"? (2)
[Need help?]
An interesting point: does the hawk misuse the word "manners"? Does he have any manners at
all?
The hawk says his manners consist of ripping the heads off of his prey. Is this what we mean by
"manners"?
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