How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
You do not know him, you communal people, or you have forgotten him;
Intemperate and savage, the hawk remembers him;
Beautiful and wild, the hawks, and men that are dying, remember him. (15-17)
Who knows this wild god? Not you "communal" people certainly. Now who's being a hater? With this line, the speaker shifts the discussion from the hawk to "you," your family, your neighborhood, maybe your whole town. What's the problem with being communal? It's as if he's saying that once people joined together in a civilization, they lost touch with their own wild spirits, the part that's "intemperate and savage." Only on your deathbed will you remember this intemperate, savage, beautiful god. Now that's something to look forward to, at least.
Quote #5
What fell was relaxed,
Owl-downy, soft feminine feathers; but what
Soared: the fierce rush: the night-herons by the flooded river cried fear at its rising
Before it was quite unsheathed from reality. (25-28)
What the what? On the instant this hawk is, um, given the "lead gift" (talk about a euphemism) he is divided into what and what. "What fell" is the material of his shed body, the soft, feminine feathers. "[W]hat soared" is the spirit, unsheathed like a sword (notice the pun), but formless—just a fierce rush.