Q4 - H is for Hawk

At the beginning of the text,

Macdonald builds suspense by contrasting her careful, restrained actions with the powerful movement of the hawk, creating anticipation before the hawk is revealed and engaging the reader.

"thump"

Onomatopoeia: Repeated throughout the passage to build tension, emphasising a violent, forceful sound.

"as if someone had punched it"

Simile - suggests that the hawk is as strong as a person, building tension and a sense of danger.

"Infinite caution."

Hyperbole: Emphasises the high stakes and danger of opening the box.

"battle"

Metaphor: Suggests potential violence and Macdonald's fear of what is to come.

"whirring", "clatter", "high-pitch twittering"

Powerful, chaotic soundscape conveys the danger and uncertainty in the situation, ultimately building tension.

In the middle of the text,

Macdonald delivers an overwhelming description of the hawk's release, demonstrating the hawk's mighty presence and exploring her intense emotional responses to it.

"brilliance and fury."

Juxtaposition of abstract nouns: beauty and violence - suggests the sublime experience of nature.

"barred and beating"

Plosive alliteration: Conveys power and aggression as the bird's wings move.

"a fallen angel"

Metaphor: Suggests a heavenly, otherworldly scale, but also possibly satanic imagery, linking to William Blake's "The Tyger".

"gathered", "folding", "anchoring" and "gripping"

Verbs: Suggest confidence in the handler's ability, contrasting with Macdonald's overwhelmed state.

"frail bluish eggshell" and "lumpen, fluffy chick"

Images of vulnerability: Raises the question of whether Macdonald connects with the bird due to her grief.

At the end of the text,

Macdonald creates a sense of emotional conflict within the text by conveying both her desperation to get the first hawk, and her overall strong, instinctive emotions toward the second.

"It was the wrong bird."

Short sentence: communicates her shock, as though stopped dead in her tracks.

"like a Victorian melodrama"

Theatrical simile: Suggests Macdonald responded less to this bird; Victorian melodrama implies something exaggerated and over-dramatic - a less authentic connection.

"a distant country "

Metaphor suggests the bird is foreign and unknown to her, making her appear emotionally disconnected.

"Do you think there's any chance I could take that one instead...? Could I? Would it be all right, do you think?"

Sequence of questions - presents her as pleading and desperate, emphasising her love for the first hawk.

"white-faced", "wind-wrecked" and "exhausted"

Adjectives show her vulnerability and therefore her desperation.