How do Hughes and Hardy both use memory in their poems?

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How do Hughes and Hardy both use memory in their poems?

Ted Hughes and Thomas Hardy were both poets who lived and wrote in the 20th century. Their work has been highly praised throughout the world. This essay is about the two different poets and how their lives affected them and their work. During the essay, I will refer to different types of memory. The poet's’ memory, which is the poets’ own memory of an occasion or a particular thing. The readers’ memory, which is the knowledge a reader might have, so the poet is reaching out to the reader, making them see what they are talking about. The other is folk memory, also known as myths. This is using myths to accentuate a point, such as Grimm fairytales. Also, the person that the poet is directing his poem to, he may use their memory as well.

These are the poems I will write about;

“Fullbright Scholars” by Ted Hughes

“St. Botolph’s” by Hughes

“Drawing” by Hughes

“Epiphany” by Hughes

“Dreamers” by Hughes

“Daddy” by Sylvia Plath

“The Going” by Thomas Hardy

“The Voice” by Hardy

“At Castle Boterel” by Hardy


“Fullbright Scholars”

This poem was based on the summer of 1955. The “Fullbright Scholars” were American students who had won scholarships to come to England and study at various universities. Sylvia Plath was among them.

Ted Hughes remembers walking down a road and noticing a picture of the Fullbright Scholars. Strangely enough, he cannot remember what street it is in. He says instead, “Where was it, in the Strand?”. He also asks if she were among them. He wonders which of them he might meet. He doesn’t remember her face. He says that he “scanned particularly the girls”. This is a reference to the fact that Ted Hughes was a ladies man. I think this also refers to everything that happens after this, but most especially Ted’s affair with Assia. I think that Ted feels that by telling her this through the poem, he is explaining to her that he will always be a womaniser, and the affair with Assia was not his direct fault.

Ted also says, “Maybe I noticed you”. Again, he can’t actually remember if he did. He talks about her hair; “long hair, loose waves – your Veronica Lake bang.” He then makes a reference to her scar – the one she got when she was 20 and tried to commit suicide: “Not what it hid”. He mentions that her hair “would appear blond”, and he talks about her smile – “Your exaggerated American grin for the camera’s, the judges, the strangers, the frighteners”. He is saying that she would smile for anyone, “the frighteners” being all the people around her She is grinning, almost grimacing, trying to tell all the people around her, all the strangers, that she wants to be friends with them, that she is not a threat to them.

Ted remembers the picture of the Fullbright Scholars, but then he changes his memory of it. He remembers buying a peach and eating it. It was the first peach he had ever tried, and he was amazed at how tasty and fresh it was. I think this is a reference to Sylvia, as a woman is often compared to a peach. This uses the reader’s memory. Using this imagery, he represents what he and Sylvia are going to be and what they are going to have. Sylvia is fresh, and it was the first time he had seen her.

Ted then says, in his last sentence, “At twenty-five I was dumbfounded afresh by my ignorance of the simplest things”. He does not realise how important this memory is.

Ted is looking back in this poem, at a time that he did not particularly think was significant, but now he is remembering it, as it played a very important role in his life. It was the starting point of Ted and Sylvia’s relationship, even is they did not know it at the time. Ted is using his memories to write this poem, and display all of his emotions, everything that was happening around him.


“St Botolph’s”

This poem is about the party at which Ted and Sylvia first met. Ted’s magazine at Cambridge had a party, which Lucas Myers, one of Ted’s friends, invited Sylvia Plath. It was this meeting that changed their lives forever.

Ted starts off the poem talking about their horoscopes. Both Ted and Sylvia were into astrology, so this played an important part in their relationship. Ted talks about “disastrous expense, but I think this refers to Sylvia, as he thought she was much more important than the money that was wasted on the party. Going back to the astrology, he questions in his mind whether if he had known how it would turn out, would he have still done it. He remembers the girlfriend he took with him to the party. He described her as a “loaded crossbow”. She was angry with him; tense; this can be interpreted in poetry as dangerous as well. He uses people’s memory when he talks about the Titanic and as it being chaotic. Nearly everyone has heard about the Titanic, and so everyone can imagine what it would be like when the ship was going down – everyone rushing around, not quite knowing what they’re doing, this reflects in the poem.

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When Lucas first introduced Ted to Sylvia, she becomes everything. He sees nothing else but Sylvia. I think this tells you how part of their marriage will be spent – he will not notice anything else but her. He talks of the first time he saw her. It makes you wonder whether it was love at first sight.

Ted describes Sylvia as “Taller than you ever were again”. I think that maybe Sylvia is never seen as quite as strong after this. Maybe the marriage subdues her and therefore she gets emotionally smaller.

Ted also remembers her hands. He loved ...

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