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 her hands, as you can see if you read “Drawing” or “Fingers”. These both symbolise what he felt was the most important part of her.
Ted then talks about a shadow. This obviously refers to bad things, things that are going to happen are looming over them, just like a shadow.
He refers again to her scar, this part of her life, which he missed, must have been important to him. I think he feels helpless, as if he already knows that this relationship is not going to be the best of relationships. He might feel a sense of doom about it, because her scar was so prominent, and it signifies quite a lot about her.
He talks of Sylvia’s red lips. Red traditionally signifies 2 things. Danger and love. There was definitely a sense of danger about her, as you find out later, but she had so much love to give, her lips must have reminded Ted later on in the relationship. I think this is why he puts it in the poem. He talks of her big, innocent-looking eyes. This is probably one of the factor’s that drew him to her, so he wishes to remember it.
Ted remembers Sylvia’s vivacity, her liveliness. He thinks of her as being so full of life and joy, it must have disturbed him later on when he realised how unhappy she had become. She was bubbly, brimming with happiness because she was to meet Ted Hughes, just like a child waiting for Christmas. She was flirtatious, but at the same time, she told Ted what she wanted, and she enticed him into her world.
She did this through biting him on the cheek. Ted says this mark stayed with him for a month. He put this right at the end, almost as if an afterthought, but I believe he put it there as it was the most important part of the poem. The memory of it stayed with him forever, as she meant it to, and it marked him, almost wounded him. I think Sylvia was maybe marking him, just like animal’s leave their scent or their mark, I think this is what Sylvia was doing to Ted. I think it was her way of telling everybody that she was with Ted Hughes, and she wanted him to come back to her, as he did.
“Drawing”Ted is writing this poem to Sylvia, talking about their honeymoon, in which they spent 2 months in Benidorm, in Spain. She was painting a picture, and Ted was watching her, writing a poem about her.
He talks of her "poker infernal pen". This is a metaphor, explaining the kind of person she was and the kind of pictures and poetry she created. Ted uses a simile as well, when he talks of the type of picture she was drawing. A picture of suffering and torture - this is how he describes her picture and the way in which she worked.
While she was drawing, Ted could be by himself, he could have peace. He talks of the stuff he was writing as not important. He thinks of her work as better than his.
Ted then uses a full stop to mark the end of a sentence, but he does it in the middle of a line, and it ends on "and were happy". It makes you think why they shouldn't be happy, but I think this points at problems they will have later on in their marriage.
Ted remembers parts of their holiday, such as the banana seller, the crowds around her, what she was wearing, even the way she was sitting. This uses his memory, as it would only be him that would remember fine details such as these.
He describes the picture as her achievement, but says she cannot draw it again because the scene and the memory were fading. He talks of the place she was buried, and of her hand being held by darkness.
Ted celebrates her picture in writing. He wants her to know that he valued what they did, and that he really did love her.
Right at the end, Ted talks of her silence, but thinks of it in a good and bad way. He was content and calm when she was drawing, but it also made him take the memories with him. Ted Hughes cannot escape the memory of a time when they were happy.
“Epiphany”
Epiphany was the revelation of Jesus to the Wise Men. It can also mean making a truth clear. In this concept, I think it is Ted talking about Sylvia revealing herself as his muse. It is common in his poems for him to talk about Fate and he also uses foxes as his poetic muse.
This poem was written in 1960, just after Ted had become father to Frieda. He was feeling tired and overwhelmed. He then talks about something he had been ignoring. He asks himself what he had been ignoring, the answer is that he had been ignoring Sylvia and all the problems they had been having in their marriage. Foxes are familiar to him – literally and metaphorically. The fox cub that he sees represents Frieda and new life, as it is still very young.
When Ted says “powerful, bonding fox”, he is talking about his life with her; it is forcing him to be different, repressing him. He is saying he is not capable of settling in this way.
Throughout all of his poems, Ted talks about Fate. It’s as though he thinks everything he does in his life is decided already. He speaks as though Fate had already thought what was going to happen, and it was somehow all down to chance that their marriage lasted as long as it did.
Ted thinks through his life, and he wonders how things would have been different if he had changed, or been different himself, or if he had provided security.
The next quote I shall use is this; “Then I walked on as if out of my own life”. This is quite interesting, because it makes you think. Is he walking out of his marriage, has he run out of energy, or has he just given up and is trying to escape?
Ted then tries to justify the failing of his marriage by talking about how he didn’t accept the fox, so he had done something right.
Ted then says, through the poem, that by rejecting the fox, he is admitting how his marriage has failed.
“Dreamers”
This poem was written about the first time Ted met Assia Wevill. It describes how Ted and Sylvia were sitting down when Assia turned up at their door with her husband. Ted talks of how Sylvia was “transfixed” by Assia, how Assia was everything Sylvia had ever wanted to be.
Ted describes Assia as animal-like, almost as if she was hunting for her prey. In this example, Ted is obviously her prey.
Again Ted mentions Fate, as is this is all nothing to with him, and he cannot help what is happening to him. He talks of it as on Assia’s side, no longer on Sylvia’s side. Ted says that he had no control, that is was not his fault, that he was “inert”.
Ted tries to blame Sylvia for what happened, when he says, “She fascinated you”. He acts as though this is why he started an affair with Assia. Assia was everything Sylvia had dreamed about being. She was Jewish, Polish and Germanic. She seemed like the persecuted female that Sylvia wished to be. She still had hints of a German accent, this made Sylvia even more amazed by her.
Then there is an interesting point. Ted talks of her Kensington jewels. This was basically saying she was trying too hard to be posh and to fit in with England’s upper class. Ted might have wondered, was she covering anything up?
Assia is written as a threat many times, as indeed she was, but Ted uses folk memory as well as his own memory. He talks of her as the “Black Forest Wolf” “Out of Grimm”. He then uses another train of thought. He uses a Jewish creation myth, talking about this “Lilith of Abortions”. This just accentuates the fact that Assia was Jewish, and a powerful sexual being, but Sylvia was not, therefore might not have had that hold over Ted.
Sylvia was obviously cautious of Assia, but since it was she that invited her there in the first place, she should have been less worried. I think this just points out that she was a very insecure person.
Ted refers to the poetry that Sylvia writes about Jewishness, the poetry that Assia seems to make come to life. This is because Assia was everything Sylvia wanted to be, so she wrote about it in her poetry.
Ted remembers Assia weeding the onions, doing a normal task. This is unlike Sylvia because she was not normal, so this was a change for Ted; he saw a different type of woman to the one he had married. Ted remembers everything that Assia did, and what she was wearing. This is very different to his description of Sylvia in “Fullbright Scholars”. In this poem, he remembers exactly what she looked like. In “Fullbright Scholars”, he cannot remember what Sylvia looked like. This shows the difference between the two women.
Ted once again uses folk memory, when he talks of the “ex-Nazi Youth Sabra”. This was a myth about Jew who returned to Israel after the Second World War.
Ted then makes a reference to the poppies in the garden. Assia admired them. Sylvia wrote poetry about poppies, so this was like an unintentional compliment to Sylvia’s’ work.
Ted uses Sylvia’s language when he talks about Assia’s “Mongolian hair”. I think this is because he could tell this is how she saw Assia, and was subconsciously telling her he saw it too.
Then Assia tells Ted and Sylvia about her dream. Again this is a dream Sylvia would have loved to have. She might have seen Assia as being more deep and meaningful, so she was very envious.
Ted did not want to acknowledge the death of his marriage, but he knew he had fallen in love with Assia, so he didn’t think he should try to pretend to Sylvia about it.
“Daddy”
This poem is written by Sylvia Plath. It was written after her marriage to Ted Hughes broke up due to his affair with Assia Wevill. The reason I have included it is because I think that much of the content of “Dreamers” by Ted Hughes is related to this poem.
It starts very directly; “You do not do, you do not do”. I think this is because she wants her father to know she is talking to him.
“Black shoe” – this refers to two things; 1. It links her father to the Swastika and the Nazi way of life. 2. It is a metaphor – she had to carry the memories of him around with her – it confined her – he was baggage.
This poem also shows her childishness (“Achoo”).
Plath uses folk memory in this when she says “big as a Frisco Seal”.
Sylvia knows of his background – he was Germanic/Polish – she wishes she could have been – this is another reason why Ted’s affair with Assia destroyed her – Assia was all Sylvia wanted to be, so in her mind, this is Ted ran off with her. Despite the fact that this was not her at all, Sylvia takes on the identity of being Jewish. It is like the only way Sylvia can be what she wants is through her poems.
This entire poem uses memory, most of the time her memory, but it also uses quite a lot of folk and reader memory;
“Frisco Seal” (giants – always die – folk memory), “A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen” (this is a reference to concentration camps that existed Word War 2 – reader memory), “Taroc pack” (this is tarot – her “gypsiness” – reader memory), “Luftwaffe and neat moustache” (a reference to Hitler – she saw her father as Hitler – reader memory), “Cleft in your chin instead of your foot” (the devil – folk memory), “Meinkampf look” (this was the book that Hitler wrote on his perfect race and the way to achieve all his goals – reader memory), “Vampire” (she talks of Ted as a vampire – sucking the life from her – folk memory).
“The Going”
This poem was written by Thomas Hardy and is about the death of his wife, Emma.
Hardy talks of “no hint” of her death. He didn’t even know that she was ill. She died so quickly that he had no idea she was going to go.
Throughout the whole poem, he never actually says that she is dead. He is never direct about her death. He does not want to let go of her. He does not want to acknowledge her dying, so he just dodges the subject.
Hardy says that he cannot follow her; he can’t catch her up; she is gone.
He describes Emma as a “swallow”. This has a romantic connotation. He still remembers her as fast and beautiful.
Hardy then says “never to bid good-bye”. This is a reference to that fact that he never got to say good-bye to her. They didn’t speak before she died because he had no idea that she was even ill.
Hardy then talks about the softness of their relationship. This is when he says, “lip me the softest call”. This just shows that they had a really beautiful relationship.
He talks of his emotions being turned to stone. I think this could also be a subtle reference to him being turned to stone. When a person close to you dies, you do feel as though you have been turned to stone, so I think Hardy is also telling us that he felt as though he could do nothing; he was turned to stone emotionally and mentally.
Hardy tells Emma that she does not know how affected by her death he is. He is filled with regret and sadness because he is once again reminded that she is gone.
He feels her ghost calling him outside to the garden. Maybe this is something she did when she was alive, so he is imagining that she is still alive and living in the house with him. This is what happens when someone who has been around you for a long time dies. You imagine them around the house, and you still feels them talking to you. This is what I think was happening to Hardy.
He remembers her and their life together when he says “often at dusk you used to be”. He is thinking of everything they used to do and be.
Hardy then goes out to the garden to see if he can find her, but he finds nothing. He feels empty, and as though it was all for nothing.
He then thinks of why she didn’t appear in the garden for him. He thinks he must go West to find her – “red-veined rocks far West”.
Hardy knows he must remember as beautiful and perfect, just how she was when they were happiest – “swan-necked one who rode”.
Hardy then remembers the bitter time they had before her death. They were arguing and not speaking. He regrets this and wishes they had more time to get it right. He wanted to do it all again and not argue. That way he would have known when she ill.
He thinks they should have gone back to all the places they went to when they were happiest. He thinks this way maybe she would not have died. And even if she still had died, it would have given them reminders of the good things they had.
Hardy uses language quite importantly at two points at the end of the poem. He uses a caesura to mark the end (of the poem, or of her life…?) And he also uses diction combined with the alliterative sound of the “k” in the words. This produces the harshness of his emotions. He resents Emma for dying.
Hardy uses a lot of memory in this poem, but unlike Hughes or Plath, he sticks to his own memory. He does not try to include the reader. This is because he is writing it to Emma, and he wants her to know how he feels, not the reader.
"The Voice"
This is a poem Thomas Hardy wrote about Emma, written before he went out to Boscastle (Hardy called it Castle Boterel).
He talks of Emma voice as little more than an echo, but it keeps coming back to him. He remembers her as how she was when they first met, not as she was just before she died.
Hardy then talks of his abandoned religion - he wants proof of an afterlife, he wants to see her again.
Like Ted Hughes, Hardy remembers every last detail as to what she was wearing when he first met her.
Hardy uses sibilance in the third verse. He finishes the 1st and 3rd line with "lessness". He is mirroring the sounds he is hearing when he thinks of her. I think that maybe this means he thought of her as the wind, free and beautiful.
Hardy talks of going towards the voice, realising that it isn't real, but still being drawn towards it, in a sort of trance.
By then end of the poem, Hardy can tell the difference between Emma and the wind, it makes you think that he had to remember she was dead before he could distinguish between the two.
"At Castle Boterel"
This was written in 1913. Hardy goes back to the place where they first met. It was raining when he went back. This spoils the atmosphere a little because he wants to remember it as idyllic because it was one of the places they were happiest. He remembers how it was dry when they visited, so it doesn’t seem as perfect now. He is probably biased because he is not going to think of it as perfect as it was, because Emma is dead.
He cannot remember what they said to each other, all he remembers is that they walked along the hills.
Hardy says that as long as he is alive, he will feel these feelings ie. he will always love her and remember her.
He then uses a homonym when he says “hill story”. This sounds like history. He is expressing their story through the hills.
Hardy talks of things that come and go, but that they changed after he and Emma went up the hill. He says that they changed everything about that particular place. He talks of it as thought it was their journey that made it come to life, as if they started all of it. Even as if they had begun its life. Hardy thinks of the rocks as children, as children are meant to represent a time when you are very happy, he says that the rocks bear the imprints of their footsteps - the places they walked when they were happiest.
He believes that as he is walking it, Emma is walking the path with him, she is encouraging him to travel there again. He is then very aware of his own mortality.
Thomas Hardy then talks of "old love's domain", and how he will never walk upon it again. This basically means he will never love again - he will always love and remember Emma.
Hughes and Hardy both used memory in their poems, thought the most common type of memory they used was their wives memories. They were writing the poems to their wives, who were both dead, so the poets needed to tell them how much they missed them, and also the things they regretted when they were alive. The reason they used their wives memories was that they wanted to keep some sentimentality in the poems, to let them know whom the poems were addressed to.
Thomas Hardy did not really use folk memory in his poems. Ted and Sylvia tended to. This shows that they were more alike than they seemed.
Hardy talked more of their life together, and the things they had done together, whereas Ted seemed to talk more about things they had done differently, and he did different points of view. In "Dreamers", he talks of his point of view, and then of Sylvia's view of Assia Wevill.
These poets were slightly alike, but I think that Thomas Hardy was more of a romantic poet that Ted was, and that he tended to think of his wife as perfect. Ted, on the other hand, remembered Sylvia's good and bad points.