Evening Hawk

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1985

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

The Image of the Scythe

The scythe is an agricultural tool with a large, sharp, sickle-shaped blade. It is used to mow grasses, harvest wheat, and fell other crops. Symbolically, it is often associated with the Grim Reaper, an allegorical personification of Death as a black-robed skeleton. This figure, wielding a scythe, comes to collect the souls of the dying and/or dead.

In “Evening Hawk,” the hawk’s wing “scythes down another day” (Line 8) with a “honed steel-edge” (Line 9) motion. This cutting motion makes the speaker think of how “Time” (Line 10) passes and there is no escape from the inevitable human fate of death. Through the rest of the poem, the speaker struggles with their ultimate end.

The Wisdom of Winged Creatures

Other than the titular bird of prey, two other winged creatures are mentioned in “Evening Hawk”: the thrush, a small songbird; and the bat. The thrush is often thought to symbolize youth, hope, and resurrection, while the bat is traditionally connected with death. However, in Warren’s poem, they both are used to signify the passage of time: “Long now / the last thrush is still” (Lines 16-17) alludes to the passing of youth, and, perhaps, the ability to create a winsome song.

While the hawk is in the full of life, strong as a bird of prey, it is also the bringer of the knowledge of death. The bat symbolizes the transition into the afterlife. This is shown through his “sharp hieroglyphics” (Line 18) as it “cruises” (Line 18) the sky. It is less severe than the hawk and able to navigate the night comfortably. This is conveyed as a primal and “immense” (Line 19) wisdom. The hawk, too, brings wisdom as it “rid[es] / the last tumultuous avalanche of light” (Lines 3-4). In summation, the natural symbolism adds to the speaker knowing that when youth is over, when death is coming, there is a way to navigate the transition.

The Star of Arcturus

“Evening Hawk” was originally published in a collection called Can I See Arcturus From Where I Stand? The collection title references the fourth brightest star in the sky, which is easily seen by the human eye (See: Further Reading & Resources). Arcturus is called both “Keeper of Heaven” and “The Guardian of the Bear,” and is part of the constellation Boötes, or the Herdsman. The layman phrase arc to Arcturus allows Arcturus to be located in the night sky by visually arcing from the handle of the Big Dipper, or Ursa Major—a constellation also known as The Great Bear—down to Boötes.

Ancient navigators used this star as a wayfinding guide. The steady “star” (Line 19) connected to Plato at the end of “Evening Hawk” may well be a reference to Arcturus and its symbolism of herding or guiding. Plato’s concept of death as the ultimate step of human existence becomes the guide for the speaker of the poem. It herds the speaker toward the idea of acceptance of their own mortality.