In this post, notes of “Unit 2D: (ii) Crow’s fall by Ted Hughes” from “DSC- 13: Twentieth Century Poetry & Drama” are given which is helpful for the students doing graduation this year.
Crow’s fall by Ted Hughes
Crow’s Fall Summary:
Read full text: Crow’s fall
Crow’s Fall is a poem by Ted Hughes from his book Crow (1970). It talks about death, change, and what it means to be human. The Crow is a main character, showing a mix of both harmful and changing qualities.
In Crow’s Fall, Hughes focuses on decay and death through the Crow’s fall, which is often seen as a sign of death or darkness. This fall can be seen as a big defeat in the Crow’s journey. The poem reflects on how death is certain and how fragile life can be. Even though the Crow is powerful and defiant in other parts of the collection, this poem shows him failing, symbolizing the limits of strength against life and death.
Hughes uses clear and strong language to show the struggle between the physical world and deeper meanings. Like many poems in Crow, it gives a raw view of being human and facing death, pain, and the chaos of life.
The images in the poem are often dark and intense, typical of the Crow collection. Hughes’s strong language aims to stir deep feelings in the reader, showing the fight between survival, destruction, and change.
In short, Crow’s Fall is a poem about the certainty of decline and death, and the complicated forces that shape our lives, represented by the Crow, who symbolizes both death and new beginnings.
Crow’s Fall Themes
- Loss: The crow’s fall represents different kinds of loss: losing strength, purpose, and maybe even losing who it is. This theme of decline is common in Hughes’ work.
- Sadness: The crow’s fall brings a deep sense of sadness. This sadness is not just about getting hurt but also about a deeper loss of spirit. The crow faces the fragile nature of its life.
- Reflection on Existence: The fall is a moment for the crow to realize its past strength is not forever. Hughes uses this fall to symbolize the human experience of always changing and struggling.
Crow’s Fall Analysis:
Poetic Devices:
- Imagery: Hughes uses strong images to show the crow’s fall and suffering. The pictures of the fall highlight the loss felt both physically and spiritually.
- Symbolism: The crow is a complicated symbol, representing death and change. In “Crow’s Fall”, the crow’s fall stands for not just losing a battle but also emotional or spiritual decline.
- Repetition: The use of repeated phrases emphasizes that the crow’s fall, and suffering, are part of life that can’t be avoided.
Structure and Form:
- Free Verse: The poem doesn’t have a set structure, reflecting the chaos of the crow’s experience after its fall.
- Narrative Style: The story follows the crow’s experiences and feelings, mirroring the confusion of falling.
Tone and Mood:
- Tone: The tone is dark and thoughtful. The inevitability of the crow’s fall suggests a deep sadness about life’s struggles.
- Mood: The mood is sad and reflective, encouraging readers to think about their own experiences with loss and life.
Critical Appreciation:
Interpretations and Critical Viewpoints:
- “Crow’s Fall” shows that all beings, even the strong like the crow, can face declines. The fall means losing power and confronting life’s fragility. Critics see this poem as a look into human struggles, where everything can change suddenly.
- Some see the crow’s fall as a moment of realizing life’s fragility, suggesting that its fall is a step toward change or renewal.
Comparison with Other Works by Hughes:
- This poem fits the themes of death and change in the Crow collection. Unlike other poems in the collection that are more mythological, “Crow’s Fall” is more personal and emotional.
- Compared to “Hawk Roosting”, which shows a hawk’s control, “Crow’s Fall” highlights loss and questioning one’s place in the world.
Conclusion:
“Crow’s Fall” offers deep thoughts on loss and reflection on life, using the crow to symbolize the common experiences of decline and vulnerability. Through clear images and strong symbols, the poem shows the inevitable loss of power and certainty. Hughes’ style and dark tone emphasize the themes of existence, making this poem a powerful part of his work.
Comparing ‘Hawk Roosting’ and ‘Crow’s Fall’
Main Ideas:
Power and Control vs. Loss and Sadness
- In “Hawk Roosting”, the hawk represents complete power and control. It sees itself as the strongest creature, ruling its world without mercy or doubt.
- On the other hand, “Crow’s Fall” shows loss, sadness, and reflection. The crow, which often symbolizes death, experiences a fall that represents weakness and the unavoidable reality of suffering. Unlike the hawk, the crow faces its own mortality and the fragility of life.
Life’s Fragility and Reflection
- Both poems think deeply about life’s meaning. The hawk in “Hawk Roosting” seems powerful but holds a bleak view—there is no real meaning in life except what it claims through force. It has total control but lacks connection to others.
- The crow in “Crow’s Fall” faces the hard truth of being fallible. Its fall shows that even powerful beings like the hawk can suffer and eventually fade away. The crow reflects on its fall, realizing the temporary nature of its power.
Nature’s Violence and Humanity
- Both poems deal with nature’s violence, but in different ways. The hawk in “Hawk Roosting” uses nature’s violence to show its power, while the crow in “Crow’s Fall” faces nature’s destructive forces, highlighting the unavoidable suffering in life.
- The hawk’s strength contrasts with the crow’s weakness, showing both the strong and weak sides of existence, suggesting that power and suffering are part of being human.
Style and Techniques:
Poetic Devices
- In “Hawk Roosting”, Hughes uses vivid images to show the hawk’s harsh view of the world. Phrases like “My eye has permitted no change” and “I kill where I please” show its total control. The hawk’s tone is cold and arrogant, giving it a strong, almost philosophical voice.
- “Crow’s Fall” also uses strong images, focusing on the crow’s fall. This fall is described as chaotic and confusing, with repetition emphasizing the certainty of loss. The crow’s struggle and thoughts about its mortality are shown through broken, scattered language, reflecting its internal turmoil.
Structure and Form
- Both poems are written in free verse, but “Hawk Roosting” is more confident and organized. Its structure reflects the hawk’s control, with careful line breaks and wording. The monologue style emphasizes the hawk’s strong, isolated voice.
- In contrast, “Crow’s Fall” has a more disordered and broken structure, mirroring the chaos and loss the crow feels. The lack of a clear rhythm reflects the crow’s fall and the uncertainty it faces. This structure highlights the confusion in the crow’s crisis.
Tone and Mood
- In “Hawk Roosting”, the tone is cold, assertive, and almost detached. The hawk talks with authority, showing no emotions or empathy. The mood is uneasy, as the hawk’s confidence feels oppressive, suggesting a dangerous view of the world.
- In “Crow’s Fall”, the tone is reflective, sad, and mournful. The crow’s fall brings a sense of helplessness, highlighting themes of mortality and suffering. The mood is serious and thoughtful, urging readers to face the harsh truths of life.
Impact and Reception:
Reception of “Hawk Roosting”:
- “Hawk Roosting” was praised for its powerful depiction of control and the harshness of nature. Critics noted the strong imagery and the hawk’s chilling confidence. It was seen as a deep look into the dark side of human nature and the tyranny of unchecked power, with comparisons to political leaders who impose control without care.
- The poem was also recognized for its dramatic monologue style, giving a voice to the hawk’s compelling yet disturbing view. It became one of Hughes’ most famous works, admired for its strong language and exploration of the brutal side of nature and human ambition.
Reception of “Crow’s Fall”:
- “Crow’s Fall”, part of Hughes’ Crow collection, received a different response due to its more abstract and philosophical nature. The collection was praised for exploring myth, death, and the human experience, but “Crow’s Fall” was seen as one of the most tragic and existential poems. Critics appreciated its ability to show the universality of suffering, but some found it bleak and disorienting.
- The Crow collection was recognized as a groundbreaking work in modern poetry, presenting a raw view of existence. “Crow’s Fall” was noted for its emotional depth and psychological complexity, showing how even strong symbols of power must confront their own vulnerability.
Comparison in Reception:
- “Hawk Roosting” is celebrated for its focus on power and control, appealing to readers interested in darker, political themes in Hughes’ poetry. It is a classic example of his use of nature to explore human issues like domination and authority.
- In contrast, “Crow’s Fall” is part of Hughes’ more reflective and existential works, providing a deeper, sadder view of the human condition. Its reception is more niche, as its themes of loss and despair may not resonate as widely as the bold figure of the hawk.
Conclusion:
Both “Hawk Roosting” and “Crow’s Fall” are important works by Ted Hughes that explore nature, power, and deep themes of existence. While “Hawk Roosting” portrays strong control and dominance, “Crow’s Fall” reflects on vulnerability and loss. Hughes’ skillful use of imagery, symbolism, and tone in both poems shows his ability to explore the darker sides of human life through nature and myth. These poems are central to Hughes’ reputation as a significant poet of the 20th century.
Study of Ted Hughes’ Poetry
Historical and Cultural Background:
- The Social and Political Situation During Hughes’ Time:
Ted Hughes created his most important works in the mid-20th century, a time of major changes in society, politics, and culture. After World War II, when Hughes started writing, there was a lot of rebuilding and unrest. The horrors of war, worries about the Cold War, and shifts in youth culture affected poets of that era.
In the UK, the 1950s and 1960s saw a move towards new styles in poetry, especially among poets like Hughes who moved away from the traditional Victorian style. Post-war British poetry often focused on people’s weaknesses, the chaos of modern life, and the loss of hope. In this setting, Hughes’ themes of nature’s brutality, basic instincts, and life’s tough questions struck a chord with others, as the world was still dealing with the aftermath of war.
The Cold War created fear and tension, which influenced the darker tones in Hughes’ poetry. The dangers of nuclear weapons and oppressive governments (shown in poems like “Hawk Roosting”) led him to write about power, control, and survival. Themes of violence and domination in his work reflect the political struggles of that time.
Personal Background:
- How Hughes’ Life Affected His Poetry:
Ted Hughes’ personal life greatly influenced his poetry, especially his difficult relationship with American poet Sylvia Plath. They married in 1956, but their marriage was troubled. Plath’s tragic suicide in 1963 deeply affected Hughes and shaped many of his writings afterwards.
The collection Birthday Letters (1998), published after his death, explores his feelings about Plath, including pain and guilt. While poems like Hawk Roosting and Crow’s Fall are not directly about her, they reflect Hughes’ personal grief and the themes of suffering and loss. The darker tones in Crow and other works relate to his struggles with identity and guilt.
Hughes’ experiences in rural England and his connection to nature also influenced his writing. Many of his poems feature animals and landscapes that symbolize basic forces, life’s struggles, and deep human feelings. This is especially clear in his themes of mythology, death, and nature’s violence in works like Crow and The Hawk in the Rain.
Conclusion
Key Points Summary:
- Ted Hughes was an important poet of the 20th century, exploring themes of power, nature, violence, death, and despair. His poetry is known for its vivid and often harsh images, examining human experiences through nature.
- Poems like “Hawk Roosting” and “Crow’s Fall” show his views on nature as a force of power and vulnerability. While “Hawk Roosting” portrays the strong hawk, “Crow’s Fall” reflects on loss and deep thoughts about existence.
- Hughes’ personal life, including his marriage to Sylvia Plath and his bond with nature, greatly shaped his poetry. His focus on basic instincts and life’s emotional struggles reflects his personal challenges and the social issues of his time.
Overall Importance of Hughes’ Work in 20th Century Poetry:
- Ted Hughes’ work is key to 20th-century poetry. His poems deal with deep issues about the human mind, existence, and power in the world. Through themes of mythology, death, and nature, Hughes brought intense energy to poetry, making him a unique voice in modern literature.
- By including nature and animals in his poetry, Hughes reflected on human behavior and instincts, providing new insights into life and death. His role in modernist poetry established him as a leading figure in post-war literature, pushing boundaries in poetic style and topics.
- Beyond his skill and depth, Hughes’ work addresses universal issues of vulnerability, suffering, and decline in human life. His legacy continues as a profound exploration of life’s complexities, marking him as a central figure in 20th-century English literature.