How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
He stands under the oak-bush and waits
The lame feet of salvation; […] (6-7)
This speaker describes salvation as having "lame feet," or feet that don't work right. This word helps remind you of the hawk's own impairment, but also suggests how time drags while this hawk waits for death to save him. The "salvation" has religious overtones (or is it undertones? Some kind of tones) that harmonize with "the redeemer" of line 11.
Quote #2
no one but death the redeemer will humble that head, (11)
This might seem like sacrilege to the devout, but here the speaker is saying that death is not just a redeemer, but the redeemer. What does he mean? Redeem in the usual sense can mean a lot of things (exchange, fulfill, return, rescue), but in the Christian sense it means to save from sin. The redeemer is usually seen as Jesus Christ who is said to have died for our sins. But here we're thinking he's talking less about spiritual redemption from sins, and more about relief from suffering.
Quote #3
The wild God of the world is sometimes merciful to those
That ask mercy, not often to the arrogant. (13-14)
Who or what is the wild God of the world? Are there many gods, wild and otherwise? Why does the speaker use this phrase? It sounds as though he wants to put some distance between orthodox religions and his spirituality. This is the god of the church of crag and creature. And a lot hinges on that word "sometimes." There's no guarantee you're going to get mercy if you ask for it, but you've got a better shot than if you're arrogant. This god is wild, and that makes him unpredictable, too.
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.