Topic > An Analysis of the Poem "Evening Hawk" by Robert Warren

Evening Hawk: Analysis of the PoemIn his poem "Evening Hawk," Robert Warren transforms the flight of a hawk during a sunset into a tale greater than the history of humanity and the relentless cycle of time. Through a comparison between the hawk and a scythe cutting “the stalks of Time,” a shift in tone between the menacing appearance of the hawk upon its departure, and a metaphor comparing history to a leaky pipe, Warren suggests that in grand scheme of things, man's daily actions mean very little: mistakes are forgotten; faults can be reset; only the greatest triumphs leave a legacy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Warren uses structured, sharp diction when he first describes the sunset and the hawk, suggesting that at the end of a day, time is burdened by man-made restrictions, but can easily be overcome by forces of nature. Light breaks down into "planes" and "geometries"; the hawk emerges from the “black angularity of the shadow” then “mows another day.” Because a sunset, something associated with a gradual and romantic change, to be described in mathematical terms, reflects man's unreasonable attempts to control and quantify existence. But then nature appears, like a sharp and ruthless scythe, which cuts this control cleanly. Just as no stalk can resist a sharp scythe, no human control can resist the incessant movement of time and the natural world. Warren then goes on to describe the “stalks of Time” in detail, noting that they are “panting.” with the gold of human error”. It has already been made explicit that for Warren a stalk is a day, so the fact that each stalk is loaded with heavy gold reflects a constant burden on the man. Every day humanity makes mistakes, and every day it remembers and suffers for those mistakes. When humans look back, the heaviest, most important, and most treasured memories are often those of failure. But because the hawk, as the natural world, is able to cut through everything cleanly, it demonstrates that even the greatest human failure will fade over time; it is useless to suffer from it. You may also be interested in plagiarism checker for essays with unlimited words Suddenly, Warren’s tone fills with seriousness: “Look! I wait! It is rising towards the last light.”. Repeating the simplistic command “look!”, it is as if Warren cannot find the words to describe such majesty, because it is something that every person must see. It establishes a mood of awe for the hawk's departure and, by extension, for the cycle of time. Warren also notes that the hawk “knows neither time nor error,” which is not to say that the hawk does not respect the passage of time, but rather “Time”: the structured way in which humanity seeks to check the time. The hawk does not recognize this: the recording of everything that happens in certain minutes, hours and days. It simply flows with the natural way of the world, allowing each day to be new. Thus, when the hawk reaches the last light and every “stalk of Time” has been destroyed, Warren's tone shifts from structured to one of almost childlike joy, reflecting that it is a new day; it's time to forget the harsh limitations of the past day and move forward. As the sun sets and the hawk departs, Warre's tone softens further and alludes to humanity's legacy. The falcon is last seen “cruising in his sharp hieroglyphs” and a star appears above the mountain, “stable, like Plato.” Few things remain after nature has taken its course and time and mistakes have been erased for a while,=41220)