Question- How is the poem a dramatic monologue ?

Answer -

'Hawk Roosting' by Ted Hughes is a poem which uses a dramatic monologue conducted by the Hawk himself Hughes deliberately gives the Hawk a voice which he uses to constantly boast about his position in society and his love for violence. This helps us better understand the theme of humanities' violence, arrogance and that of a power hungry nature as a white as the Hawk's characteristics reflect directly on those of humanity.

Hughes uses the Hawk's persona to mirror the intense greed and arrogance of humanity in modern life. The repetition of 'my' and 'T' throughout the dramatic monologue shows the hawk's arrogance. What further suggest the Hawk's arrogance are the starting lines:

'I sit in the tip of the wood my eyes closed - This refers to the hawk being on top of the food chain and the animal kingdom, in humans it suggests that we want to be at the top of the social hierarchy. 'Eyes closed' makes it seem as if the Hawk doesn't need to stay alert because nothing will challenge its superiority. This theme is further continued when the Hawk exclaims. "The convenience of the Sun's rays'.

This symbolises that it's safe and can see everything, can view its pray before attaching, he seems to think that Mother Nature is there just for him. The sun, air and trees all help him and are there only for him. In addition to this the word: 'I kill where I please because it is all mine.'

The Hawk seems to think the whole world belongs to him, just like humans. Man thinks they can do whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want as they are the superior species.

Hughes then reflects humanity's fixation with conflict and death the rough the Hawk's fixation with violence. Hughes very cleverly employs alliteration of 'h' and 'k' in the world:

'Hooked head and hooked feet'.

The 'h' and 'k' sound are harsh which reflection the harsh ways of the hawk. A hook is a simple yet brutal weapon; repetition of 'hooked' is reminding the hawk of that, his body is a weapon with only one purpose to kill. This is continued by:

The word choise of 'sophistry' lots us know that the Hawk doesn't have sophistication and is delighted with this fact. 'Sophistry' and 'manners' are juxtaposed with 'tearing off heads.' This emphasizes that politeners has little to do with the hawk; he enjoys violence and loves being uncivilized and barbaric. The allotment of death is said in a clinical emotionless tone. The Hawk believes he has the ultimate power of choosing life and death. It makes him seem like a God like figure but he is not benevolent, instead he is a detached evil being. This directly refers to humanity's constant wars and their love for violence.

Hughes portrays the Hawk as a creature of great power similar to that of a modern day dictator with an iron grip. This is shown by the Hawk saying.

'My feet are locked upon the rough back.'

This relates to nature and how the hawk thinks he is holding nature in his foot. It symbolises the Hawk's tight control over the natural world. The word choice of 'locked' has the connotation of having a tight grip, a grip that can't be broken, controlling. This helps is see the hawk's dictator like persona. The lines:

The shows the Hawk's physical strength and power. For the hawk to live, other creature must die. The Hawk's life is more important than the others and involves them dying for him. The Hawk's flight is his life and his 'path' is to kill whatever he pleases with no conscience. In humanity, dictators are the same, they do whatever they want as they thinks they're more important than the others.

Hughes demonstrates the Hawk's belief in omnipotence and megalomania is used to emphasise the comparison to that again of a fascist dictator. This is shown by the quote : -

'And the Earth's face upward for my inspection.'

The Hawk has an oversized ego and considers itself dominant over the world. He is judging the world to see if it is fit for his purpose and up to him standard. This theme is backed up by:

'No arguments arrest my right.'

Nothing can stop the hawk as he believes he has the right to do what he wants, just like human rights allow human liberties. The hawk doesn't feel the need to prove himself as he is at the top of the food chain; there is no higher authority then him. This links the hawk to a human dictator with absolute power but the Hawk doesn't take responsibility for this. The colon at the end introduces a list of simple concrete facts which compose the last verse. It is a definitive list:

"The sun is behind me..........keep things like this.'

  Metonymy is used when the Hawk states 'my eye has permitted no change.' The Hawk can see everything just as dictators use surveillance to keep control through then use of spies the Hawk too uses its eye in the same way. According to the hawk, nothing will change simply because he doesn't want anything to change. The hawk doesn't want to love his power, he is consumed by it and doesn't want to give it up.

In conclusion, we can see that the use of a dramatic monologue is very beneficial to the poem as a whole. The use of dramatic monologue helps us relate the qualities of the hawk to those of the Hawk to those of humans and see the similarities.

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