Hawk Roosting

Moon on the Tides, Conflict

1. Starter What does this image show? How might it link in with the concept of power? Is the natural world nice ?

2. LO: To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’. Hawk Roosting

3. If you could do anything you wanted to do, what would you do? List at least 3 things and be prepared to explain why you would do them. Which people are powerful in our world? List 4. You might like to think about rulers of particular countries, but you should also consider people who have no political position. How do people prove they have power? Is our society hierarchical? Activity: Power

4. For each of the following words, draw a small picture and write down five words you associate with it: a hawk the sun nature. Imagery

5. The poem is about a hawk boasting about its power. The hawk thinks that it is the most important and powerful creature in the world; it controls everything. The hawk describes how it likes to kill its prey in a violent way. This is a metaphor for the behaviour of political leaders or people in general . What is the poem about? To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

6. 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 . He is high up on a tree and high up on the food chain The hawk has no time for daydreaming Repetition reminds us of the hawks violent weapons. To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

7. 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. Personification: the earth is looking up at the Hawk for approval. buoyancy = power to float To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

8. 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 Someone or something with power created him Now he is the one with the power to control the earth To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

9. 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 hawks feels that he makes the world go round- godlike. Violence Sophistry = reasoning that sounds true but its wrong He doesn’t need to explain why he is so powerful. To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

10. The allotment of death. For the one path of my flight is direct Through the bones of the living. No arguments assert my right: He has control of who lives and dies! The hawk attacking his prey To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

11. 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. This suggests that the sun supports what he is doing. He likes to feel that he is in total control. To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

12. Arrogant- “Now I hold creation in my foot” Power-crazy- Self absorbed- Boastful- Egoistic - Someone who is self-obsessed is… Complete the rest! Use quotations from the poem…

13. An alternative way to approach the poem is to look at the ideas of control and ownership. List all the nouns used in the poem : something that is part of the hawk a natural phenomenon something that the hawk thinks it owns or controls. The hawk believes the world revolves around it literally (see line 13) as well as figuratively. Nouns To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

14. Form -The poem is a dramatic monologue (when a character is speaking aloud) Structure - the monologue ends with a statement about the future. This shows the hawks power. Language - An arrogant tone, the hawk thinks that he is better than anyone else. Personification - the earth is inferior to the hawk. Violent words - the Hawk is a brutal creature. F.S.L

15. Can you find the quotations that the images refer to?

16. How does the poet create a sense of the hawks importance? Is the reader suppose to agree with the hawk’s opinion of itself? What clues are there in the poem? Why do you think the poem is written in the first person? Questions To explore the Form, structure and language of the poem ‘Hawk Roosting’.

17. Extension activity Create a mind-map based on this poem.