Allegory for society
This poem might be seen as an allegory about society. The hawk has been born into an advantaged position in nature's hierarchy, but he doesn't feel any responsibility for those beneath him, instead believing that it is his natural right to hunt his prey. Here, Hughes may be saying something about the attitude that more advantaged people often have in society.
"Top of the wood"
The fact that the hawk sits "in the top of the wood," represents his place at the top of the food chain. The hawk is a predator and believes that the wildlife of the wood belongs to him due to this position.
The natural order
There is a suggestion in this poem that certain features of the hawk symbolize its predatory nature. For example, the hawk has a "hooked head" and "hooked feet," features that paint the hawk as violent and predatory. This is significant symbolically, as it suggests that the hawk was designed to act this way, and therefore is not necessarily acting of its own free will.
Manners
The hawk's "manners" symbolize its cruel and cold nature. Hughes describes this in the following passage:
"I kill where I please because it is all mine.
There is no sophistry in my body:
My manners are tearing off heads."
The Hawk
The hawk can be seen as a symbol of nature's cruelty. The hawk has a very cold attitude about his prey, believing that they belong to him as it is his "right."
