Stylistic Devices in Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes

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The ?Hawk Roosting? poem is a very interesting, and distinctive description of the world of a hawk. Even though the hawk is described in an imposing way, it still has raw aggression, and horrible descriptions of killing, and power. The hawk, in the poem, has been given this idea that he is a god and that everything revolves around him. It is described as the epitome of self- reliance and self- assurance.

?Hawk Roosting? is written in six regular stanzas, each consisting of four lines. It is a rather simple structure that does not get in the way of meaning and let the reader clearly see what the writer means. The poem seems to have a regular metrical pattern. However, it does not appear to fit a specific rhyme scheme.

The poem is started with easy grace ?in the wood, my eyes closed,? ?lay down to rest on a bare hillside? yet with intense power.

Moreover, as we continue down the lines, the grace ceases to exist and we are forced to race with our feelings, as there is a change of rhythm.

The hawk expresses himself in short concise sentences to make the language powerful and direct. For example, "The sun is behind me,? and ?The allotment of death.? Most of these sentences are short and use simple language. This creates direct powerful images, as there is nothing else in the sentence to confuse the reader.

There are many powerful images in "Hawk Roosting", which help to reflect the character of the hawk. For example, the hawk is presented as being aggressive, pitiless, and barbaric which is expressed through the violent image "I hold creation in my foot" and "the earth's face upward for my inspection.? The last line, "I am going to keep things like this" also shows...