HAWK’S MONOLOGUE

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.

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 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.
About the poet:
Edward James Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was an eminent and distinguished English poet and
writer. He wrote for children and is called a children’s writer. His poems are interesting to read
to children. Many critics of his age and after that rank him as one of the best poets among his
contemporaries. Ted Hughes was British Poet Laureate and he maintained his position from 1984
until his death.
Ted Hughes was a great English poet. He was a famous English poet and translator. He also
wrote for children. He was a great 20th-century English writer. He married Sylvia Plath. He wrote
beauty and violence in the world. Ted Hughes was a great translator.  He translated many works.
This poem is written by the English poet Ted Hughes. This poem is about a hawk who boasts of
his power. He thinks that he has all power. All-powerful people forget that one day they have to
die and destroy.
Context
This poem is the monologue of an old hawk. The hawk tells us about his beauty, power, and skill
to attack and hunt other birds. he considers himself the best of all creation. He thinks that God
has used the best workmanship to fashion his feet and feathers. It is an inborn right to attack and
kill other birds. The right to bloodshed and destruction is given to him by nature. he does not
want any change in this system. he wants to be the lord of everything he surveys forever.
Summary | Main Idea | Hawk’s Monologue:
Hawk’s Monologue is a thought-provoking and realistic poem. It is about the misuse of power, The
hawk is sitting on the top of a tree. His eyes are closed but he can judge the actions of other birds. He is a
power drunk He considers himself a superpower.
He thinks that the rays of the sun help him for the hunting of his prey. The earth too raises its pace
upward to salute him. He boasts that he is superior to all other creatures. He flies here and there without
any fear. He proves himself the sovereign ruler of all other creatures. He boasts and proclaims that his
supremacy is permanent.
I kill where I please because it is all mine
l am going to keep things like this.
The basic theme of this poem is based on the false judgment of the hawk. He suffers from the delusion of
power. He is a power drunk. He fails to face the realities and facts of life.
He only worships the false image of power. He is unable to judge the temporary power, like a cruel
dictator. The tragic end is wrapped in his passion to rule others. He makes a false judgment.
Hawk’s Monologue is a highly symbolic poem. In this poem, the hawk is a symbol of power,
destruction, and brutality. His cruelty is shared by the dictators of the world. Like dictators, the hawk also
has a false notion of his power and authority.
He considers himself superior to everyone. The hawk is also a symbol of a cruel murderer. He thinks that
God has given him the power to kill his prey. He thinks
that he is unchallenged in his authority and power.
The poem Hawk’s A monologue is a criticism and satire on the dictators of the world. They claim to be
superior to other people as does the hawk of the poem. But later on, they are unable to understand the
temporary nature of their own life.
But soon they meet their own tragic end. The cruel dictators of the world suffer from  foolishness. With
the passage of time, they become corrupt, and soon they met their tragic end.
Later on, they come to know the reality of their temporary power. Through this poem, Ted Hughes gives
a moral message to all the dictators of the world. The message is very simple but sometimes they
understand it very late.
He advises the dictators that they should not feel proud of their power and authority. They must be
humble and submissive before God, Who is the lord of the lords. So cruel dictators should not consider
themselves powerful and superior.
Reference to Context and Explanation:
Lines 1-4
I sit on 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.
Reference
These lines have been taken from the poem Hawk’s Monologue by Ted Hughes.
Context
Hawk’s Monologue is the speech of ‘a a savage bird of prey who takes pride in his unchallenged power
to kill and destroy the other weak birds. The poem also exposes the attitude and misconceptions of power-
drunk persons in this world.
This poem is a dramatic monologue delivered by the Hawk who boasts much of his superiority over other
birds. He thinks that he is the most powerful creation of nature and has the complete right to kill others.
Explanation
In these lines, the hawk tells us about his hypocritical and cruel nature. He says that he is sitting on the
branch of a tree. His eyes are closed but he is not misguided by his false dreams.
He is observing all things in his dreams. Even in his dreams, his hooked beak and claws go on rehearsing
the act of killing other birds. He is a master in his art of killing other birds.
Lines 5-8
The convenience of the high trees;
The air’s buoyancy and the sun’s rays
Are an advantage to me,
And the earth’s face upward for my inspection.
Reference and Context
Same as for lines 1-4
Explanation
In these lines, the hawk shows himself as superior to other creatures. He thinks that he is the lord of
everything. Nature has provided him with many advantages for his plunderers’ activities.
He says that the tall trees in the forest, the buoyant air, the rays of the sun, and the vast surface of the
earth all have been created for his convenience. Owing to these facilities he can easily locate, control, and
hunt his prey. He enjoys all these comforts fully.
Lines 9-12
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.
Reference and Context
Same as for lines 1-4
Explanation
In these lines, the hawk considers himself the best creature of God. God has gifted him the power to kill
and destroy the other birds. Hawk himself asserts that his feet are firmly fixed upon a rough trunk of a
tree.
He further says that the services of the entire creation were used to produce his feet and each of his wings.
He is the ruler of all creations. Allah Almighty has paid special attention to making each part of his body.
His feathers are also very strong like his feet. There is no flaw in any part of his body.
Lines 13-16
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
Reference and Context
Same as for lines 1-4
Explanation
In these lines, the hawk tells us that when he flies, the whole universe revolves around him. He can fly
fast or slow, as he likes. He is the lord of his territory.
He can kill his prey when and where he likes. Nobody can guess his supernatural kind of power. There is
no defect in his body. He is perfectly made. His sole purpose is to kill and tear the other birds whenever
he likes.
Lines 17-20
The allotment of death.
For the one path of my flight is direct
Through the bones of the living.
No arquments assert my riqht:
Reference and Context
Same as for lines 1-4
Explanation
In these lines, the hawk says that his only job is to allot death to any bird. He can kill the bird of his
choice without being challenged by anyone. For this purpose, he flies straight through the body of his
prey and kills it at once.
Whenever he flies in the air, he tries to make his path through the bones and flesh of the living creatures.
This is his fundamental right which God has allotted him. Nobody can argue against this right.
Lines 21-24
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.
Reference and Context
Same as for lines 1-4
Explanation
In these lines, the poet describes the boastful nature of the hawk. The hawk thinks and considers himself
the sovereign lord of this world. He is actually a power drunk. He considers that the sun is behind his
back. The sun provides him light to capture his prey.
It guides his sharp eyes to mark his prey and hunt it as easily as possible. He does not like any change in
the world. He wants to continue to keep things in the same manner. He does not allow any revolution
against his sovereign rule. Even
he thinks natural objects like the sun, must be under his control.
Important Questions and their Answers:
Question 1: Discuss the theme of the poem Hawk’s Monologue by Ted Huges.
Answer:
The poem Hawk’s Monologue is about the delusion of a power-drunk hawk who is very proud of his
physical power. He thinks that he is the cause of creation. Actually, Hawk is a symbol of despotic rulers
of the world.
In spite of being the crown of creation man has some malevolent traits which quite artistically presented
by Ted Hughes In his wonderful poem Hawk’s Monologue.
The poem is a metaphorical representation of tyranny, arrogance, destructiveness, Conceitedness,
superiority, egotistical attitude, and obsession with the power and inhumanity of the man. All the
destruction in the world is just because of man and all the above-mentioned evils.
Power-drunken man kills and destroys everything that comes his way, like the Hawk who kills and preys
innocent birds and other creatures to satisfy his hunger. The theme of destruction is all-pervasive in the
poem.
Man’s desire to gain the utmost power has made him a tyrant and arrogant. Such as in this poem Hawks
claims great power and dominance. He says Now I hold
Creation in my foot. Arrogance and the conceited attitude of man are also some of the dominant themes
of the poem.
The Hawk claims that God has designed this world and all things for its purpose
so as a man. Mortality is another dominant theme in the poem. Death is personified by Hawk. Such as
Hawk ruthlessly tears off and beheads innocent creatures so that death is cruel, and merciless.  I kill
wherever I wish.
The poem is not a simple monologue of a cruel bird rather it is a manifestation of the cruel force of nature
in the face of man and his inhuman desires. Man’s lust for power and dominance made him a tyrant who
knows nothing except perfect control over the world.
Question 2:
Can we say that Hawk’s Monologue is the assertion of a power-drunk ruler.
How has the poem presented hawk as a symbol of power, strength, and destructiveness?
How would you comment on hawk’s claim? Now I hold Creation in my
foot?
Answer:
The poem is a dramatic monologue in which a Hawk talks to himself. He considers himself a symbol of
power. He has grown old but he still considers himself powerful. He says that he still grips the branch of
the tree with all his might.
His work according to him is cutting off heads from bodies. He thinks he can kill any bird around him and
he has the right to do so. He thinks he is blessed with sharp and powerful paws. He considers himself the
master of all-natural objects.
The poem is a symbolic poem. The hawk may be a symbol of a dictator. A dictator
thinks that he has all powers. He can do what he wants. He considers himself the owner of black and
white. He argues that all things happen and should happen according to his will.
He is of the opinion that he can kill others for nothing and there is nobody to ask him. He is above
accountability and has the power to make laws of his own choice. Hawk as a dictator has so many
similarities between them. A dictator kills his opponents without any reason like a hawk.
He rules his country in a way he desires like a hawk flies high in the sky like a king. He has limitless
powers like a king. Both have the false notion that there would be no change in their powers.
The poem ends with the fact that as the hawk himself that he is still young and powerful the dictator also
feels that he will remain powerful all his life. But there is a decline in everything. A dictator will no more
be in power he will have to lose his powers one day.
Question 3:
Discuss the images used by the poet to highlight the grandeur and domination of hawk over creatures.
Answer:
Ted Hughes in Hawk’s Monologue has skillfully used many images to show  Hawk’s delusions of being
all-powerful., supreme, dominant, arrogant, callous, and self-centered. These images, in fact, bring out
myopic thinking of the dictators.
At the beginning of the poem, the image of the hawk’s sitting manners reflects his careless style. The
hawk is sitting on the top of a tree. His eyes are closed. His hooked beak and hooked feet create a
dreadful picture of the hawk.
I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed inaction, no falsifying dream
The second image is about the claws of the hawk. He has firmly held the bark of a tree in his claws. It
seems that he is holding his prey in his bloody talons. My feet are locked upon the rough bark.
The third image is about the high flight of the hawk in which he kills his prey according to his own will
and without reason. Or fly up, and receive it all slowly, I kill where I please because it is all mine.
In the fifth stanza of the poem, the hawk is presented as a ruthless, cruel, and despotic ruler who can kill
anyone without sound reason.. The allotment of death  For the one path of my flight is direct.
The use of these and other similar images highlights the grandeur and impact of the hawk’s physical
strength, and domination over other creatures. The central idea of the poem is thought-provoking. The
powerful people think that they are monarchs of all they see.
They are vain of their power. They hurt and tease others even kill others only for the sake of their
satisfaction and to forget their downfall. But with the passage of time, they lose their power and glory.
Question 4:
Do the hawk’s assertions of all-powerfulness impress you? If not, why?
What is the symbolic interpretation of the hawk’s assertion?
Answer:
Ted Huges is a modern English poet. He has given philosophical views that are based on his deep
observation and minute study of human nature. The main themes in his poetry are destruction, power,
death, and violence.
Hawk’s Monologue is the speech of a savage bird who takes pride in his unchallenged power to kill and
destroy the other birds. The poem is actually a Dramatic Monologue presented by the hawk who boasts
much of his supremacy over the other birds.
He thinks that he is the most powerful creation of Nature and has the complete right to kill others. The
poet has expressed the hawk as a symbol of absolute power, authority, and destruction. The poem has
symbolic significance.
In fact, it is a serious criticism or satire on the dictators of the world who want to have unlimited powers
over them. They develop misconceptions about their power and status. They do not listen to any reason
and believe that they are the greatest on earth.
Their treatment of others is based on contempt and they do not hesitate to torture or destroy others for
their pleasure. But they forget that they also have to suffer from death and destruction. They do not admit
that everyone in this world is not permanent.

Themes:
The main themes in his poetry are destruction, power, death, and violence. Hawk's Monologue is the
speech of a savage bird who takes pride in his unchallenged power to kill and destroy the other birds. The
poem is a Dramatic Monologue presented by the hawk who boasts much of his supremacy over the other
birds.
The theme of the poem is thought-provoking. In this world, powerful people think that they are monarchs.
They are vain of their power. They haunt and tease others. They kill others only for their happiness.
Intoxicated by their power, fame, and prosperity, they forget their downfall. but with time, they lose their
power and glory. The Hawk is a symbol of power in the poem and also a symbol of death and destruction.
Violence as Instinct
Ted Hughes depicts the hawk as a violent creature. It may seem that the hawk has assumed this brutality
and violence in his behaviour. However, it is only natural. The hawk is representative of the Darwinian
theory of the survival of the fittest. If he does not kill the birds for his diet, he may not survive. So, this
instinct of violence is necessary to meet another instinctive necessity of the hawk, that is, his hunger. It is
also important to note that nature itself helps the hawk in his spotting and killing his prey.
Power and Freedom
The hawk, in his monologue, thinks that his extraordinary power grants him the freedom to kill other
birds. It is a symbolic representation of human societies across the globe. It also refers to prevailing
political scenarios all over the world. The people in the seat of power and authority rely more on force
than on reason. They manipulate the weakness of others. Their only objective in life is to prolong their
rule whether by hook or by crook. They think that they are not answerable to anyone for what they do. It
also seems to endorse the fascist opinion that freedom to live the way one wants depends upon power. In
the world of humans, one finds many dictators and hegemonists possess the same tendency. They use
power to terrorize and control the masses. Power stands no checks of morality.

The Analysis of the Poem Hawk’s Monologue by Ted Hughes

Personification
Ted Hughes has given the hawk of this poem human qualities. The hawk of the poem can soliloquize his
thoughts. He can put his thoughts into words which is a unique idea itself. In the third line of the first
quatrain, the hawk does not use words like beak and talons. Instead, he uses the phrase ‘hooked head and
hooked feet’ for them. Instances like this stand for the employment of personification of the poet. This
use of personification by Ted Hughes is not without an end. Through this literary device, Hughes
accentuates the similarities of approach and action between human and wild worlds.
Form of the Poem
Hawk’s Monologue by Ted Hughes does not follow any fixed rhyme scheme or strict meter. The poem is
in the form of free verse. This form serves Hughes the purpose of expressing a nonlinear pattern of
thought. The poem is a monologue. It starts with the pronoun ‘I’ for the hawk. It reflects the subjectivity
and individuality of the idea of the hawk as of the poet. The diction employed by Ted Hughes suits the
topic and setting of the poem. He does not use highly emotive words.
Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The speaker of this poem is a hawk, who is personified in this poem to give us an insight into how a
predatory animal might think.
Form and Meter
This poem is written in free verse.
Metaphors and Similes
Hughes uses a metaphor to describe how the hawk feels about his surroundings: "And the earth's face
upward for my inspection."
Alliteration and Assonance
"To produce my foot, my each feather."
Irony
Ironically, the Hawk's intentions of "tearing off heads" are described as being "manners"
Genre
Nature poetry
Setting
This poem is set in a forest, where the hawk lives.
Tone
The tone of the poem is quite morbid.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The hawk is arguably both the protagonist and antagonist
Major Conflict
The major conflict of this poem is the hawk's feelings about his position in the ecosystem.
Climax
The climax of the poem is when the hawk says "I am going to keep things like this."
Foreshadowing
Hughes indicates the cruelty of the hawk in the following line:
"Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat."
Understatement
Hughes suggests that people often understate the cruelty of the natural world.
Allusions
By referring to "Creation," Hughes alludes to a religious way of thinking.
Personification
Hughes personifies the hawk in this poem.
Hyperbole
The hawk uses hyperbole to describe its position at the top of the hierarchy. For example, the hawk says:
"It took the whole of Creation
To produce my foot, my each feather."
Conclusion
Ted Hughes has shown remarkable imaginative and creative faculty in this poem. Hawk’s Monologue is
as much a poem of nature as is To the Cuckoo by William Wordsworth. Both the birds live in the same
world, though with different attributes and characters.