turn of the screw

“The allotment of death.” Hawks may be considered noble creatures but Ted Hughes gives a rather different image of them in his poem ‘Hawk Roosting’. He provides the reader with the image of a corrupt and arrogant predator. A very different image to what we are perhaps used to. One cannot deny that the hawk is a bird of prey but Ted’s clever use of personification allows one to look at it from a different perspective: from the hawks own eyes. I will look into how this corrupt figure is conveyed, how the clever use of Imagery and his word choice completes the poem.

The hawk is conveyed as being arrogant and very bold with how powerful it believes itself to be. Ted makes it clear to the reader that the hawk is a corrupt figure through the use of the first person narrative of the hawk. This allows the hawk to express its own thoughts and feelings to the reader on a personal level. Ted puts the hawk across in a very autocratic manner like a dictator on a pedestal giving a speech.
“Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat”
The hawk is not shy of its predator nature and is open and proud of the fact. It states that even in rest killing and eating are the main things on its mind. The hawk lives to kill other less powerful creatures so much so that it is buried into its subconscious.
“I kill where I please because it is all mine. There is no sophistry in my body:”
The hawk’s arrogance is shown clearly throughout the play. Several lines refer to its belief of being above all else. It does what it wants without consequence, it believes there is no higher power to stop it. The hawk owns life, it’s own and any others it so wishes to take. Its skills are not of magic but natural power.

He uses a lot of skilful imagery to show the hawks arrogance and corruption.
“And the earth’s face upward for my inspection.”
This is a grand line that gives a clear image to the reader of how the hawk sees itself to be the big picture.