Animal Consciousness: Reflections through Poetic Interpretations

The thoughts of animals has always been a fascination for man. Since the beginning humans have researched animals with a simple curiosity of how they think and to what extent do they think. Though animals are often painted as simpletons with no comprehensive thought but rather acting on raw instinct. However, the authors of Hawk Roosting and Golden Retrieval, Ted Hughes and Mark Doty, present two very different outlooks on life through an animal. One a bird and one a dog, but each characterized through descriptive language, the animals' interests, and tone.

The descriptive language in the poems reveal a small part of the personality of the animals. In the first poem, Hawk Roosting, Hughes comments that the bird finds, "Inaction, no falsifying

dream" (line 2). The bird is unruly and calm at the same time. He is uncomfortable with inaction, yearning to fill the silence and lack of movement with the idea of hunting his prey. In Doty's poem, Golden Retrievals, the dog thinks, "Catch? I don’t think so. Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel who’s— oh joy — actually scared"(lines 2-3). The short, choppy sentence shows the reader that the dog has a short attention span and tends to jump from one thing to another. A happy life, content with the little things, contrasting with the contemplative calmness of the bird. Both poems, told from the view of animals, have characters that are spades apart in personality.

By describing the bird and dog's day it shows the reader what personality these animals have. In Hughes' poem, he says, "I kill where I please because it is all mine. There is no sophistry in my body" (lines 14-15). The bird enjoys things that require tact and thought while asserting their dominance. The first sentence shows that the bird is overconfident and haughty, believing he is the ruler of his hunting ground. In contrast to this, the dog says, "I’m off again: muck, pond, ditch, residue of any thrillingly dead thing"(lines 4-5). The dog prefers the simpler things, revealing a simple personality. He sees the world as fascinating no matter how trivial, showing the dog has a child-like personality. The authors reveal bits and pieces of the animals characters through the description of their interests and hobbies.

Tone plays a large role in the development of characters.

The tone in Hawk Roosting is presented in the line, "The sun is behind me. Nothing has changed since I began. My eye has permitted no change."(lines 21-23). Since the poem is told through the bird's point of view, the calm tone reveals that the bird is calm and accepting of his role. He sees his activities as nothing more than his meaning of life and he enjoys that meaning, his character is shown to be calm and introspective. The second poem, Golden Retrievals, "My work: to unsnare time’s warp (and woof!), retrieving,my haze-headed friend, you. This shining bark" (lines 10-12). The playful tone reveals that the dog himself is playful, his lack of introspection and deep thinking is apparent, he rather paitns himself as the saving grace for his owner. His personality is filled with child like humor while still praising himself as a hero for barking at his master. The tone reveals the personalities of the speaker through unique nuances in the writing.

Animals, despite what people may think, are shown to have depth and unique personalities through the two poems presented here. Both animals are seen to be different but similar to each other in which both are completely satisfied with their way of life. In the poem Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes and Golden Retrievals by Mark Doty each animal is characterized through descriptive language, the animals' interests, and

tone.