How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers and Other Woodcuts · Chapter
The Hawk; The Hollyhock explained
This chapter humorously distinguishes the hawk from the hollyhock by observing a broody hen's reaction: she tolerates hollyhocks near her chicks but cannot abide the hawk, highlighting the absurdity of confusing a bird of prey with a flower
What happens
This chapter humorously distinguishes the hawk from the hollyhock by observing a broody hen's reaction: she tolerates hollyhocks near her chicks but cannot abide the hawk, highlighting the absurdity of confusing a bird of prey with a flower.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs in the tension between the Ibis’s preserved, sacred death and the…
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Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Wordplay and Homophones
The chapter plays on the similar sounds of 'hawk' and 'hollyhock' to create a humorous confusion between a bird and a flower.
- Humor and Absurdity
The absurdity of confusing a predatory bird with a garden flower is highlighted through the hen's contrasting toleration.
Characters to notice
- the Birds
The broody hen and her chicks are referenced as examples of birds that interact with hollyhocks and hawks.
Key passages
“To recognize this bird‑of‑prey, The broody hen you should survey: She takes her chicks on daily walks, Among the neighboring Hollyhocks, While with the Hawk association, Is quite beyond her toleration.”
To identify a hawk, observe a broody hen: she walks her chicks among hollyhocks but cannot tolerate the hawk's presence.
The passage uses the hen's behavior to distinguish between the hawk and the hollyhock.
