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Robert Penn Warren uses figurative language in “Evening Hawk” to portray the scene, mood and meaning. Throughout the poem the use of geographic figures arise, “plane of light to plane”, “Geometries and orchids that the sunset builds” (2), “avalanche” (4), “gorge” (5), “and peak’s” (3) relate to the structural appearance of nature through the geographical diction. The juxtaposition of the structured words gives flight to the contracting on of the freedom of the “hawk” (6). The universal symbol of birds relates to freedom displayed by the focus on the hawk’s wing, “scythes down another day, his motion” (8). The dream to be free from the consistency of “down another day” (8) relating to it being a habit to be able to go anywhere because of the use of flight. Time is also portrayed as “the crashless fall of stalks of Time” (10) to resemble time is of nature due to the use of stalks, being a usual product of man for societies benefit, relates to man attempting to control time and therefor nature is unsuccessful. The “crashless fall” (8) portrays a more elegant movement just as the flight of the bird; conveying time is not supposed to be harvested by anything; it is to be enjoyed through elegance. The diction places the setting in a productive environment due to “light” (1) and “stalks” (8) positive diction. The personification of “The head of each stalk is heavy with the gold of our error.” (10) symbolizes how mistakes make individuals who they are because of the connection of stalks and time. Also, figurative language gives flight to the mood of the poem. “Whose eye unforgiving, the world, unforgiving, swings into shadow.” (13-14) portrays that nature is unapproving of man due to the connotation of “unforgiving”, and the connection of the almighty eye of God becomes appear because of the eye in the poem that judges man or society. The unforgiving is hidden suggested by “unforgiving, swings into shadow” (13-14) because the diction of shadow has a connotation of darkness and hidden making the unforgiving hidden from the eye. The owner of the eye goes unknown but is made clear that power is held through the questioning of “whose eye” (13) and “who knows” (12). The world and the eye do not forgive and what is not forgiven goes to the shadows in “unforgiving, swings into shadow” (14). The hawk symbolizes wisdom through age due to the “sharp hieroglyphics” and “wisdom” (16), and the comparison, simile, to Plato, a Greek philosopher. The diction relates to history and as seen, history repeats itself if mistakes are not learned from. The questioning of the speaker “we think” includes society and includes his/her-self displays a universal unawareness to the earth. “history drip in darkness like a leaking pipe in the cellar” (20-21) the simile is society’s relation to “the earth grind on its axis”, a natural relation due to the natural diction of earth and axis and the connotation of man through history, darkness, pipe, and cellar. Overall, the poem conveys man can never control nature because man and nature need each other to survive. This is supported by lines 20-21 and the view of nature versus the view of man. Nature is a progressive, productive unit with the existence of the consistency of nature and its reoccurrence, but grinds, having a little trouble; although, with man the wing is broken because of the “brokenness” of man’s creation of the “pipe in the cellar” (21). Life however continues even though nature and man do not operate swiftly together, they still need each other to fly.