H is for Hawk

• What is the title of the non-fiction book written by Helen Macdonald?

  H is for Hawk
• Why did Helen Macdonald write H is for Hawk?

  She wrote it following the unexpected death of her father.
• In what year was H is for Hawk published?

  2014
• What does Macdonald describe in H is for Hawk?

  Her experience training a Northern goshawk named Mabel after her father's death.
• What is the main focus of the extract used in the anthology?

  Macdonald meeting her hawk for the first time.
• How does Macdonald feel when she first meets her hawk?

  She feels a deep connection to the bird.
• What does the extract begin with?

  It begins in medias res with the goshawk breeder checking his paperwork.
• What happens when Macdonald first sees the hawk?

  She describes its reaction to being let out of the crate.
• What does Macdonald's panic about the hawk's hood signify?

  It signifies her emotional investment and concern for the bird.
• What realization does Macdonald come to regarding the hawks?

  She realizes that the first hawk is the one she feels a connection with, not the second.
• What are the key themes in H is for Hawk?

  • Connection with nature
  • Grief
• How does Macdonald express her connection with the first hawk?

  She experiences an emotional reaction and feels protective of it.
• What does the phrase “a great flood of sunlight drenches us” suggest about Macdonald's feelings?


  It suggests a moment of brilliance and joy in her connection with the first hawk.
• How does Macdonald describe her feelings towards the second hawk?

  She feels a strong, negative reaction to it.
• What does Macdonald's description of the second hawk's stare imply?

  It implies that she perceives something unsettling and unrecognizable in it.
• How does Macdonald's connection to the first hawk relate to her grief?

  It serves as a metaphor for her connection to her father.
• What does the use of short sentences in the text create?

  It creates tension in the build-up to Macdonald meeting the first bird.
• What does the repetition of “thump” and “enormous, enormous” suggest?

  It suggests that something dangerous and possibly monstrous is emerging from the box.
• How does Macdonald use metaphors to describe the first bird?

  She uses various metaphors to convey its otherworldly nature and her struggle to find adequate words.
• What does the metaphor “her world was an aviary no larger than a living room” convey?

  It conveys the sense of shock the bird feels when exposed to the outside world.
• How does Macdonald's comparison to Medea affect the reader's perception of her?

  It emphasizes her apparent madness and emotional turmoil.
• What does the use of polysyndeton in the text convey?

  It conveys the overwhelming barrage of thoughts and feelings Macdonald experiences.

  
• How does Macdonald express her inner thoughts in the text?

  She uses present tense internal dialogue to reflect her dilemma.
• What skills are necessary for Paper 1, Question 4 of the exam?

  • Language analysis
  • Structure analysis
• What will Paper 1, Question 5 ask students to do?

  • Compare the anthology text with the unseen text.