A Comparison of Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes and The Eagle by Lord Tennyson

924 Words2 Pages

A Comparison of Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes and The Eagle by Lord Tennyson The two poems I am going to compare and contrast are 'Hawk Roosting' by Ted Hughes and 'The Eagle' by Lord Tennyson. They are both poems about birds of prey. I am going to compare and contrast them through different features of the poems. These are theme, development of ideas, language, tone, rhyme, rhythm, imagery, mood and atmosphere and context. I am also going to write about my reactions to each of the poems. Both of the poems are describing birds of prey. The Eagle focuses on the dominant side of the bird while Hawk Roosting focuses more on the ruthless side of the bird. They both start with the bird in an elevated position and emphasise the birds poise. Hawk Roosting says, "I sit on the top of the wood, my eyes closed." The Eagle says, "close to the sun in lonely lands." The two poems speak admiringly of the birds and describe the appearance of them. Hawk Roosting says, "my hooked head and hooked feet." This gives us a picture of the hawk's big claws and its arched back. The eagle says, "he clasps the crag with hooked hands." This gives us a picture of the eagle's claws and feet and how they "clasp" the "crag". I think The Eagle builds up the better picture in describing the birds' features. Both of the poems suggest that the birds control the environment and are a threat to all lesser creatures within their kingdoms. Hawk Roosting says, "Now I hold creation in my foot." The Eagle says, "he watches from his mountain walls." The Eagle is a short poem with two stanzas, each with three lines. It is ordered and symmetrical. Hawk Roosting is a long p... ... middle of paper ... .... At first this may seem an advantage that The Eagle is easily understood but as Hawk Roosting is more complicated a lot more can be taken out of it. Each of the poems were written in different eras. The Eagle was written in the 19th Century and Hawk Roosting was written in the 20th Century. This reflects the content of the poems, which I have already commented on. The comparison between the two poems shows how much society does influence poets in their writing. My reactions to the two poems are mixed. I like The Eagle because of its order and rhyme making it easy to read but as it is undemanding it does not leave a lasting impression. Hawk Roosting is harder to read as it isn't ordered but I like it because after reflection there is a lot in it. Therefore I think Hawk Roosting is my favourite of the two poems.

Show More
Related

  • Alison Joseph's 'On Being Told I Don' T Speak Like A Black Person

    422 Words  | 1 Pages

    The poem is written in the style of free verse. The poet chooses not to separate the poem into stanzas, but only by punctuation. There is no rhyme scheme or individual rhyme present in the poem. The poems structure creates a personal feel for the reader. The reader can personally experience what the narrator is feeling while she experiences stereotyping.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Komanuyakaa Facing It

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    The informal language and intimacy of the poem are two techniques the poet uses to convey his message to his audience. He speaks openly and simply, as if he is talking to a close friend. The language is full of slang, two-word sentences, and rambling thoughts; all of which are aspects of conversations between two people who know each other well. The fact that none of the lines ryhme adds to the idea of an ordinary conversation, because most people do not speak in verse. The tone of the poem is rambling and gives the impression that the speaker is thinking and jumping from one thought to the next very quickly.

    Read More

  • Good John Maloney

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    Written with rhyme, but no meter and lines containing 9 to 12 syllables, Good has a long and voluminous shape. Maloney uses smaller, more subtle rhyme scheme at the end of each line to give his poem limber form. He uses the last syllable of the last word to create the alternate rhyme scheme. As the length of each line changes throughout the poem, the lines create a visual of a basketball being

    Read More

  • The Beginning Of The Song That Diverts The Heart Summary

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    The alliteration used is to emphasize rhythm in the poem. On the other hand, the poet also depicts a certain rhyme scheme across each stanza. For example, the first stanza has a rhyme scheme of this manner a, b, c, d, e, a. With this, the rhyme scheme depicted is an irregular manner. Hence, the poem does not have a regular rhythm. Moreover, the poet uses a specific deign of consonance, which is present in the poem (Ahmed & Ayesha, p. 11). The poet also uses the assonance style depicted in the seventh stanza, “Seven whole days I have not seen my beloved.” The letter ‘o’ has been repeated to create rhythm and to show despair in the poem. On the second last line of the seventh stanza, the poet uses the style of consonance, “If I hug her, she’ll drive illness from me. By this, the letter ‘l’ is repeated across the line. The poet’s aim of using this style of Consonance is to establish rhythm in the poem and add aural

    Read More

  • Lines By Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of alll, the poem is divided into nine stanzas, where each one has four lines. In addition to that, one can spot a few enjambements for instance (l.9-10). This stylistic device has the function to support the flow of the poem. Furthermore, it is crucial to take a look at the choice of words, when analysing the language.

    Read More

  • The Effectiveness of Act 1:3 of William Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    they are all rhyming at once it adds to the connection of three and is

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of My Papa's Waltz

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Roethke’s poem has a regular rhyme scheme that can be expressed as “abab”. The only exception to this scheme would be the first stanza as the words “dizzy” (2) and “easy” (4) are slant rhymes. Only the end syllables of the two words sound the same. As a result, the use of a consistent “abab” rhyme scheme allows the poem to reflect the

    Read More

  • Pain in Growing Up, Snowdrops, and Your Shoes

    449 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lastly all three of the poems are reasonably long and go into a lot of

    Read More

  • Analysis of My Papa's Waltz

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    The constant rhythm throughout the poem gives it a light beat, like a waltz; the reader feels like s/he is dancing. The rhyme pattern of...

    Read More

  • Ron Padgett's The Morning Coffee

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    I believe that the structure of this poem allows for the speaker to tell a narrative which further allows him to convey his point. The use of enjambment emphasizes this idea as well as provides a sense of flow throughout the entirety of a poem, giving it the look and feel of reading a story. Overall, I believe this piece is very simplistic when it comes to poetic devices, due to the fact that it is written as a prose poem, this piece lacks many of the common poetic devices such as rhyme, repetition, alliteration, and metaphors. However, the tone, symbolism, allusion and imagery presented in the poem, give way to an extremely deep and complicated

    Read More

  • A Close Reading of The Raven

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    The entire poem including the first stanza, as scanned here, is octametre with mostly trochaic feet and some iams. The use of a longer line enables the poem to be more of a narration of the evening's events. Also, it enables Poe to use internal rhymes as shown in bold. The internal rhyme occurs in the first and third lines of each stanza. As one reads the poem you begin to expect the next rhyme pushing you along. The external rhyme of the "or" sound in Lenore and nevermore at then end of each stanza imitates the haunting nature of the narrator's thoughts. The internal rhyme along with the same external rhyme repeated at the end of each stanza and other literary devices such as alliteration and assonance and give the poem a driving chant-like sound. The musicality of the rhyme also helps one to memorize the poem. This helps keep the poem in your head after you've finished reading it, lingering in your thoughts just as the narrator's thoughts are haunting him. The rhyme also helps to produce a humming beat in the readers mind driving him on steadily..

    Read More

  • The House on Mango Street Cisneros's Style

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    The novel has confused many critics and readers because it reads like poetry, yet in actuality it is a narrative. Cisneros admits that many of the vignettes are "lazy poems." This means that they could be poems if she had taken the time to finish them (Olivares 145). At many times throughout the novel the words rhyme and can almost be put to a catchy tune. For example, the chapter "Geraldo No Last Name" reads like a poem with end rhyme and a structured pattern. "Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can't remember which one" (Cisneros 65).

    Read More

  • What Is The Mood Of The Poem By Billy Collins

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    The length of the sentences in the poem stays the same throughout the poem. This adds a sense of consistently throughout the poem. This consistently parallels the unchanging mood of the poem. The short sentences also adds a sense of calmness because they are easier to read. The short sentences quicken the pace of reading of the poem.

    Read More

  • Since Feeling is First

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...is a romantic poem that teaches a lesson about life. Its use of figurative language makes the poem appealing to the readers. It talks about life being fun

    Read More

  • Infant Mortality in We are Seven by William Wordsworth and On My First Sonne by Ben Johnson

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    poem have a happy mood but it is the way he has made the poem very

    Read More

More about A Comparison of Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes and The Eagle by Lord Tennyson

Open Document