Figurative Language In Robert Penn Warren's Evening Hawk

Updike continues his portrayal of the vast splendor of nature through metaphors, similes, and diction pertaining to a large flock of starlings that flew and over and lit on the gold course where the two men in the poem are playing. The approaching flock of birds seem like a “cloud of dots” (Line 16) on the horizon to observers. The author compares The image of the steadily approaching flock of starlings to iron filings (the birds) stuck to a magnet through a piece of paper (the horizon). The men stand in awe of the black, writhing, approaching mass, much like children do when the magnet picks up the filings through the paper. By comparing the approaching birds to the magnet and iron filing scenario in a simile, Updike subtly likens the men reaction to a small child’s reaction when he/she sees the “magic” of the magnet and the iron filings for the first time. The simile purpose is to show how nature can make grown men feel like small, free little kids when experiencing nature at its best. As the observers continue to watch the looming flock of birds, the flock became one huge pulsating mass of birds that seemed as “much as one thing as a rock.” (Line 22) Updike once again eloquently portrays nature as absolutely stunning to show how nature affects man. The birds descended in a huge “evenly tinted” (Line

In life, there are often many different ways to experience an event depending on a person’s background and field of study. Regarding these two passages, John Audubon, a scientist, and Annie Dillard, an artisan, describe a murmuration of starlings based on their experiences. The use of their craft in the description of this phenomenon is shown through their styles of writing. While both authors use descriptive language, Audubon utilizes an exact and scientific style while Dillard utilizes a reflective and poetic style.

“Poetry is more primitive than prose. It existed before prose and will exist afterward, it is not domesticated, it is wilder and more natural” (qtd. in Hunt, “Prose”). Robinson Jeffers said this about poetry, and a reader can feel this in his poems. Jeffers lived an interesting and fulfilling life. He enjoyed the solitude of his home on Carmel Point, and spending time with his family. He wrote during the Modern Era, but he didn’t write like a modernist. Jeffers wrote as if he was speaking with the reader. “Hurt Hawks” was criticized by Tim Hunt. Hunt said that it was one of Jeffers’s greatest poems. Another appreciated poem, “Oh Lovely Rock”, has been analyzed as well. His descriptive setting makes it feel real to a reader. Robinson Jeffers was a prominent, award winning, American poet in the Modern Era who changed the format of poetry with his prophetic and enlightening writings including “Hurt Hawks” and “Oh Lovely Rock”.

In his poem “Evening Hawk”, Robert Penn Warren describes the ominous flight of the hawk through the eyes of a human narrator who admires the hawk to reveal the power of nature over the human race as the world comes to an end warning them to correct the error of their ways before it is too late. He conveys this using juxtaposition of movements of the and the description of the setting, the ironic viewpoint of the narrator,

The Rainbow Crow brings fire on a smoldering stick from the Great Spirit in the sky to the snow-secured forest creatures. Due to the smoke he breathes in as he flies back to the forests, he unselfishly loses his excellent voice. Never again is he a rainbow-hued feathered creature, however a dark crow. His crackly "caw" and plain dark quills give him his opportunity, then again, for man, who has not yet touched base in the forests, won't chase crow. Since Crow can't sing, his plumes are dark, and his meat suggests a flavor like flame and smoke, he will be free. Along these lines is his unselfishness compensated. The outlines, done in a primitive style, make a genuine feeling of the Pennsylvania Lenape Indians and their winters. Raccoon, deer, beaver, fox, and bird are all unmistakably portrayed in delicate

Not wasting any time, I dashed up to the crest of the hill, only looking back at the last moment to see them embracing and whispering together in good humor. Behind them and at the bottom of the hill, a hawk hunt above the stream feeding the marsh. It was a beautiful creature soaring on the thermals with no concern about man’s foolishness.

In “Hawk Roosting” by Ted Hughes, the speaker conveys a permanent nature of the world and expresses the need to preserve natures past. On the opposite spectrum of this idea, Mark Dory’s “Golden Retrievals” expresses the importance of the present. Both poems utilize diction and syntax to highlight their speakers’ differing personalities; however, while “Hawk Roosting” reveals a more arrogant, wise speaker, “Golden Retrievals” exhibits a youthful, friendly speaker.

Warren begins the first stanza by highlighting the foreboding strictness of nature. He uses harsh, distinct adjectives to describe the evening. The hawk is seen breaking away from the “dark angularity of shadow” into the sun formed “geometries of orchids” furthermore, the time of day is acknowledged as the majestic creature is said to ride upon the fading “tumultuous avalanche” of day light. The use of these cacaphonic adjectives shed light on the foreboding mood of this piece. From this stanza recognizes that nature is being represented as a cold and calculated force that only the hawk can maneuver. Through the use of language the theme of man versus nature becomes apparent.

Once firmly back on the banks of the waterway we heard the ripping caw of a crow, causing us both to instinctively look up towards the sky. At first, I couldn’t see the bird, but after a moment it glided into view, circling high above on warm air currents as it searched for prey.

The introductory description of the “frail” girl and the springtime atmosphere describe the birth of a child and the joy of childhood (1). The “sticks and stones” are representative of the girl’s courage and strength, and the aspects of nature provide a source of steadfastness for the girl as well (4). The warmth and widespread presence of light express the innocence of the girl and the carefree attitude of a child; however, the diction in the second stanza describes a season of summer, the season known for exploration of hopes and dreams. In the woman’s case, summer serves as the time for illusions and temporary aspirations. The summer’s “blinding white rays of deceit” are the woman’s goals for her life, yet she soon realizes the artificial substance in her hopes which are symbolized by the clouds present in the poem (9-10). As the clouds darken and become heavier, the woman’s dreams for herself begin to grow thin, and as she becomes more aware of the “heavy burdens,” her body as well as her soul begin to emaciate (14). Her once thought to be sturdy courage becomes “twigs” rather than the sticks that once supported her (13). The diction throughout the poem expresses the woman’s progression in age and maturity through vivid imagery and descriptive connections with nature. The word choice

This text is written in a serious tone, and not humorous and doesn’t aim to be. This piece of text uses a lot of metaphorical language for the reader to ponder and imagine. The hawk: “circled and fell like a stone, came up again and flew against the sky until it shrank to nothing.” This is one of the metaphors that are used that

This is done in order to furthermore reiterate the comparison of dominance in the animal kingdom to the nature of power in the human hierarchy. The imagery of the hawk itself and its ability to be “cruising… in skies” as stated in line 6 is a symbolic motif representing the hawk’s dominance and privilege over other animals. This idea is further incorporated in line 27-28 when Witt states “nothing is safe that’s soft or slow on the ground”, he uses alliteration of letter ‘s’ in “safe...soft...slow” to empathize on a tone and pace that mimics the nature of those animals. Height imagery is furthermore used as a symbolical mean to demonstrate the privilege of the hawk as the higher class to rule over the lives and freedom of the animals as the lower class that are “under the eye of power” as stated in line 18. Throughout the poem, Witt uses techniques such as alliteration to empathize on the imagery of perspective and height, while highlighting and comparing social hierarchy to an animal prey versus predator situation, berserk and

The sense of superiority and arrogance leads to get the idea this bird is a conceited. The poem ends with the resolution of the insane cruelty hawk has: he is not willing to change himself. Linked to Death, it could be interpreted as if she were giving revenge for something. The overall effect got once read the whole poem is the expression of strength and control, an evil and dangerously magnificent power impossible to avoid. There are three essential features in the poem in order to get the interpretation: language, which is the main tool to get the harsh sense of perversion; knowing how hawks are in wild nature so as to recognise it as a symbol and dividing the stanzas to get the essence of each one and subsequently relate them together. In conclusion, Death is identified throughout the poem because of its goodwill of taking innocent lives and having no pity for anyone or anything. She pulls

Throughout the poem, pensive voice enhances the speaker’s burden of wavering thoughts; he struggles enjoying nature while feeling as if he should defend himself against it. The snake first fascinates the speaker, as he

A great number of verbs are packed into a short space of lines, as Hopkins tries to nail down with as much descriptive precision as possible the exact character of the bird’s motion.