Shiva Robinson Jeffers

According to the Hindu religion, Shiva, the powerful last deity of the Hindu triumvirate, is responsible for the destruction and re-creation of this world (BBC). Many believe his powers destroy the imperfectness allowed to spawn in this world so as to make way for necessary and valuable changes. With just a casual flick of his blue-tinted wrist or a deadly performance of the Tandav dance, Shiva is able to send the world spiraling into chaos, though some Hindus call it “constructive destruction.” Similarly, in “Shiva,” by Robinson Jeffers, a hawk rampages through the world, destroying it so the world can later be renewed. Literary devices such as imagery and symbolism show that the theme of “Shiva” is destruction can lead to fresh starts. In “Shiva”, a cunning hawk stalks other birds to the ends of the earth, ruthlessly picking them off one by one. Jeffers symbolizes each of the hawk’s victims, whether it be the “pigeons of peace and …show more content…
However, the last two lines, which are “She will build a nest of the swan’s bones and hatch a new brood, Hang new heavens with new birds, all be renewed” (13-14) show a different side of the hawk. In these two lines, the bones of the swan symbolize the last bit of beauty left in the world. Rather than begin life in a nest of darkness, the hawk uses the last remnants of beauty to build her nest.”Hang new heavens with new birds” is a metaphor meaning that the hawk populates a new world. Rather than population the world with peace pigeons or liberty herons, perhaps she may consider populating it with diverse, brightly colored parrots, optimistic goldfinches, or wise, capable barn owls. Much like the Hindu deity Shiva, the hawk rids the world of not just the beauty, but also of the impurities present. She makes the world a blank slate, open to all opportunities - both the good and the bad. She constructs a whole new world from