The poem Full Moon and Little Frieda is by Ted Hughes written about his daughter, Frieda, expressing themes such as childhood, innocence and discovery.

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By Benjamin Bloch

        The poem “Full Moon and Little Frieda” is by Ted Hughes written about his daughter, Frieda, expressing themes such as childhood, innocence and discovery.

        From the title, we can gather that the poem will involve a full moon. “Little Frieda” refers to his daughter. The fact that the word “little” is used tells us that Frieda is a very important to the author.

        From the first line, “A cool small evening”, we can immediately feel the calmness of the rhythm. The use of a caesura directly afterwards puts an immediate focus on the line “And you listening”. The word “you” involves the reader directly. “A spider’s web, tense for the dew’s touch.” is not a very explanatory line. It leaves you nervous, waiting for the end of the story. It very much accentuates the silence and it shows us that it is set in the countryside. The word “pail” could also refer to something being pale, such as the moon and milk. The fact that the pail is “still and brimming” puts a real emphasis on the stillness of the evening. The alliteration in “To tempt a first star to a tremor” makes the sentence flow smoothly, but also gives us a further impression of tenseness. The fact that “cows are going home in the lane there” confirms that this is set in the countryside, possibly on a farm. The fact that the cows are in the “lane there” says immediately that the author is standing close enough to see the cows, but that he is stationary. The theme of the countryside is again emphasized with the word “hedges”. The phrase “warm wreaths of breath” personifies the cow’s breath into a wreath, again linking back to nature, as well as showing us that it is a cool evening. “Wreaths” could also relate to the shape of the moon as being round. “A dark river of blood, many boulders” demonstrates that there are many cows and that they are all extremely large. A river also tends to have many turns and be very large, therefore this phrase demonstrates the large amount of cows and that they are occupying much of the winding country lane. The line “Balancing unspilled milk” reinforces the tenseness of the evening. Milk also relates to the color of the moon.

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        “‘Moon!’ you cry suddenly, ‘Moon! Moon!’” The use of the word “you” is very personal and very endearing. It gives a clear sense that the author is proud of his daughter. The fact that only one word is repeated many times could indicate that the word is new to Frieda. This was written at the time Ted Hughes’ daughter, Frieda, was approximately 2 years old. This is around the time that young children experiment with words, so the word “moon” could be new and, consequently, special to Frieda. The idea that the moon then “stepped back like an artist gazing ...

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