Hughes uses a variety of techniques to exhibit this view of a cold, predatory, indifferent nature. In “Pike” he describes the fish with ‘green’ stripes ‘tigering the gold’ body. This in itself is symbolic: a tiger is a beautiful, deadly predator, that seemingly doesn’t care what or whom its prey is. This suggests to the reader that while nature can be beautiful, it is also deadly and vicious. The tiger is also one of the strongest big cats on the planet, signifying the strength and power of nature. Heaney reinforces this by comparing the pike to a monster ‘hung in an amber cavern’. The cavern of the monster very often is home to a great, precious, striking treasure; yet at the same time the monster reminds any who hope to posses the wealth of the cavern; that great beauty is not without its complications and dangers. Heaney goes on to buttress the imagery of great strength and power by introducing mechanical links to the various parts of the pike; as Heaney likens the jaw of the pike to a ‘hooked clamp’ and relates the power of the jaw to the ‘vice clamp’. The connection between the predator and the machine-like qualities of nature only continues to persuade the reader that nature, however beautiful, is cold and indifferent. Via these techniques, Hughes brings nature to life, characterizing nature as a cold aloof personality.
In contrast to this, Heaney personifies nature as a familiar friend, a friend that reminds us every so often to hold on and overcome. Heaney establishes this familiarity by employing the use of his local colloquial language, stating the fish were all ‘muscle and slur’ and indicates to the reader that ‘we call’ the fish ‘flood-slubs’, making the poem more personal to the reader and Heaney himself. Additionally the frequent assonance in the line of the poem creates a soothing rhythmic effect on the reader that echoes the babbling of the river. There is a slight use of symbolism in the poem, as the reader may interpret the ‘Bann River’ as a representation of life; and the ‘current’ as the obstacle of life. To have the fish ‘guzzle’ the current, to have them ‘bluntly holding the pass’ despite the difficulty, reminds the audience that although life can be brutal, there will always be a portion of it that fights on. This symbolism and rhythmic pattern, causes the reader to infer that to Heaney nature can serve the audience as a source of comfort, that nature understands the reader and our natures as humans.
The perch and pike in the poems explore existence. In “Pike” Hughes speaks of a ‘life subdued to its instrument’, leading the reader to believe that throughout the pike’s life, it need not worry about complications or problems, instead all it can and will do is one thing, to be ‘killers from the egg’, implying the predator’s instinct has been embedded into their very genetics. Ironically, we can learn from this predator, as humans, we too have this predatory instinct, but unlike the pike, we hide it, a menacing “silhouette” of a hidden “submarine” in the depths of our character, showing the reader that we are both predator and prey. In “Perch” Heaney also uses the fish as a medium to explore existence, he compares our need to hold on to a constant through change to the perch ‘guzzling the current, against it, all muscle and slur’. The ‘Bann River’ can also represent time and the fast moving current the passage that we can’t slow down or reverse; he emphasizes it’s “the everything flows” of “the world”, reminding us that there are some things we can’t ever change, and that as we resist the current of opposition, we fight the wrongs of society – making our own path. Through these images evoked by the language of the poems, the poets use nature to explore existence.
Through the techniques of symbolism, personification and rhythmic colloquial language, Hughes and Heaney bring nature to life while imparting something important about existence.