Hawk Roosting Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes is a great poet in English literature.
His wife Sylvia Plath is the greatest American poet of twentieth century. Ted
Hughes is better known as the “Champion of the poetry of violence. Ted Hughes looks at these animals from their
point of view because they always live by their natural drives and
impulses. To Ted Hughes, animals and
birds are powerful symbols. The hawk, for instance, is a symbol of a
megalomaniac dictator. The hawk sys, “I kill where I please because it is all
mine”. The poem ‘Hawk Roosing’ is a comment on human society, for there are
many megalomaniac dictators in human society. We destroy the fauna and flora,
killing animals and birds mercilessly. We cut down trees and ruin jungles after
jungles and turn beautiful meadows and forests into deserts. In the history of
mankind, we see a lot of meglomaniac dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini,
Napoleon, Idi Amin etc. When we look around, we see megalomaniac dictators in
the disguise of parents, teachers, administrators and elders, wherever people
have a chance to rule over their subordinates. These dictators enjoy the
sufferings of their subordinates. This poem is a dramatic monologue.
The hawk perched upon the top of the tallest tree in
the woods surveying the world around with a cold cruel eye. The hawk is proud
of its feathers, hooked head, hooked feet and says that it does not need any
training or rehearsal to kill other animals. Killing is so natural and perfect
that its flight directs through the bones of the living.
The hawk boasts that the entire
world, the sun, the moon and the stars are created for its convenience and
comfort. The earth is like an open book for the hawk’s inspection. The hawk
imagines that it is the master of all the creatures the fauna and flora. So it
can kill any animal or bird according to its choice. It took the whole of
Creation to produce its feet, each feather. Now everything in the universe is
under the hawk’s foot. When the hawk flies, the whole world revolves slowly. The
stupid hawk thinks that everything is created for him. Facing the eastern side,
the foolish hawk feels that even the sun is behind him. The hawk says that
there is no mercy and kindness in him. He loves killing others. Every
megalomaniac dictator is like this foolish hawk. Such megalomaniac dictators
are responsible for world wars and civil wars. They are arrogant, obstinate and
cruel to others. They are sadistic and corrupted. They think that they are
superior to others and not abide by laws. They make obstacles for human
progress and prosperity.
They think
that they live here forever. But in fact his life is even shorter than the life
span of pebbles in the water. Still the hawk boasts that he will not permit any
change in his life time. He kills where he pleases because it is all his. But
the foolish hawk does not think how many hours he can live on the earth. It is
less than a moment when compared to millions of years which are required for a
slight change in Nature.
Questions:
Essay:
Discuss the poem “Hawk Roosting” as a comment on human society.
Gyigt
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