Q2 of 8 Page 122

How does the poem emphasize the physical prowess of the hawk?

Hughes’ “Hawk Roosting” portrays the self-authoritative proclamation of the hawk who is in a crisis of existentialism and tries to usurp the interrogating position of God. The savagery and arrogance of the hawk are exposed in its dogmatic assertion of its ferocity and superiority. It dreams of “perfect kills and eats”, signifying its thirst for violent power. The hawk is symbolic of Fascist ideology that forcefully tries to adopt the centrality of power all within itself. It even denies the invincibility of God’s power and tries to establish itself as the sole container of power and control. The hawk even goes to the extent of thinking that it just takes only a flight to reverse the situation and it will make it happen slowly. It enjoys the absolute right to kill itself where it pleases, thereby positioning itself as the victorious holder of authority. He slanders the sun, to evoke the idea that even the sun follows it all throughout. It talks of its eyes as a constant presence which “haven’t permitted no change” and which it plans to keep intact.


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