An Analysis Of 'Hawk Roosting'

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the talk show, with me your host, Aaron Ramsey. In today's show I bring to you the man who is not only famous for his poetry, but also his children’s books and his adventurous exploits in the National service. Without further ado, I present to you Sir Ted Hughes!

Aaron: Good evening and welcome to the talk show sir.

Ted Hughes: Thank you Aaron.

Aaron: Before we begin, I would like to tell you that I am a big fan of your poetry. I am especially fond of Pike, Hawk Roosting and Thought Fox .

Ted Hughes: Well I am very delighted to hear this coming from you Aaron.

Aaron: Sir, let’s begin with Hawk Roosting. What type of symbol is the hawk in this poem?

Ted Hughes: In Hawk Roosting,

The first is that they both are predatorily animals in their respective ‘ worlds’. In the second stanza of Pike, they are described as being “stunned by their own grandeur,” and “A hundred feet long in their world.” This creates a sense of arrogance and dominance in the water, similar to the dominance the hawk has in the air and land. The second point relates to a rather strange incident from my childhood while growing up in Mytholmroyd. We had these Pikes, which killed each other by one jabbing into the others throat. Now skipping a few decades when I was writing the Pike, this incident came to mind. I connected it back to my previous work, Hawk Roosting and both of them were similar to each other, as in the way I express the darker nature of human beings. We must not forget that these characterics of human nature, which are violence and lust for power, go hand in hand with each

Although sometimes our fights would be a little too extreme. After her death, I was distraught and in state of pain, and it is during this time that I wrote the Minotaur and Daffodils, which I dedicated to her.

Aaron: Sir, I’m very sorry.

Aaron: Sir, my final question is actually about the last poem in your collection. When we turn to the last page we see the title “ Frieda And the Little Moon” and that is all. No poem. Why did the publisher forget to publish it?

Ted Hughes: It’s not like that. I actually told the publisher at the last moment not to publish it. To tell you the truth Aaron, it is one of those poems that I keep closest to my heart. It is about my daughter Frieda, and how as a child she had a fascination with the the moon. Every time the moon would rise, she would drag me outside to the porch and force me to watch it with her. These are the moments that I truly treasure, especially after the death of my wife Sylvia. Hence this is the reason why I did not want to publish this Poem.

Aaron: Sir, it was great having you on the show and I hope that new single can be released soon. Thank you