The Solipsism of Empire: A Postcolonial Reading of Ted Hughes's "Hawk Roosting"

Abstract

The poem "Hawk Roosting" by Ted Hughes is an allegory that symbolizes power, dominance, and the natural world. It reflects upon the solipsistic perspective of European colonialism and imperial authority. Through the analysis of the monologue of the Hawk in a Postcolonial theoretical context, the rhetoric of the hawk highlights the central ideologies of British empire, the ideology of natural superiority, the divine right to dominate, the violent establishment of order, and the obliteration of the subaltern Other. Moreover, this paper contextualizes Hughes's work during the mid-20th-century era of decolonization and engages with the postcolonial theories of proponents like Edward Said and Frantz Fanon to deconstruct the voice of the hawk. It argues that the hawk represents the imperial subject who makes imperialism appear justified through a self-naturalizing discourse that renders the colonized territory and its inhabitants passive and voiceless, while subjects have a use value. It goes beyond general statements of power and reveals the particular mechanics of colonial discourse, offering Hawk Roosting as a critical but indirect commentary on the long-running psyche of imperialism.