About the poet
Ted Hughes was an influential English poet and playwright, known for his powerful, often dark and primal poetry. His works frequently explore themes of nature, mythology, violence, and the human psyche, often drawing upon animal imagery and the natural world to symbolize human experiences and emotions. He served as Britain’s Poet Laureate.
In this poem, the hawk is granted the ability to speak and think, allowing readers to experience the instincts, attitude, and behavior of such a creature. The hawk carries an air of authority, observing the world from its elevated perch in the trees, feeling as though everything belongs to it. It speaks with a sense of superiority and unwavering confidence in itself. The hawk’s ego and self-centeredness are striking, evoking a sense of awe. Even more powerful is the imagery of violence and brutality, as the hawk takes pride in its ability to kill.
Line by Line Analysis
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. 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.
The poem begins with the hawk describing how it sits at the top of the forest, its eyes closed in stillness. It remains motionless, experiencing no false dreams as it sleeps. Even in slumber, the hawk dreams of perfectly killing and consuming its prey. The trees are perfectly positioned for its convenience, and from its high perch, the air is light and buoyant, with the sun shining strongly. These conditions serve the hawk well as it searches for prey. The landscape below, with its contents facing the sky, allows the hawk to observe and inspect everything from above.
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 hawk’s feet are firmly gripped to the branch, symbolizing its strong connection to the earth. Referencing a religious idea of divine creation, the hawk claims that its feet and feathers are the product of God’s creative power, positioning itself as the pinnacle of God’s achievement. It holds all of creation beneath its feet, standing at the top of the world. At times, the hawk soars high into the sky, feeling as if it controls the world’s movement, as if it makes the world spin. The hawk feels no need to justify its actions with complex reasoning and experiences no guilt or shame when it kills. It kills with godlike power, slaughtering whatever it desires because, in its mind, all living things belong to it. Its idea of manners is to tear the heads off its prey. In this, the poet satirizes humans who commit similar acts of violence without a genuine need to survive. The hawk’s actions are driven by instinct, not conscience, and it is implied that any being with a conscience would not act this way. Yet, humans, in their pursuit of power, commit murder and violence, much like wild animals.
The allotment of death. For the one path of my flight is direct 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.
According to the hawk, death is a natural part of its existence, with the living being killed as collateral damage in its flight path. The sun is described as being “behind” the hawk, which carries an ambiguity: it could mean that the hawk is able to see its prey clearly because the sun is not in its eyes, or it could suggest that the sun, a powerful source of light, is supporting the hawk’s actions. The hawk is determined to keep things in its favor, unwilling to loosen its strong grip over the natural world. Through the imagery of the hawk, the poet critiques human arrogance and greed, which have led to the destruction of human civilization. Humans often abuse their power and take dominance for granted, growing to believe they are greater than God, much like the hawk believes itself to be supreme.
