The Warm and the Cold.

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The Warm and the Cold

Subject matter

This poem is about winter and comes from a series of poems by Hughes called Season Songs.

* The intense coldness of the approaching dusk on the trees and roads and hills is described, but the animals are safe and warm in their own special bedding.

* Freezing night falls, but other (different) animals are also safe and secure.

* Although the moonlit world is covered by a film of frost, still more animals are oblivious to the cold, snug in their winter homes.

* It is so cold that the moon itself is frightened; farmers, tucked up in bed, turn over in their sleep like oxen on spits.

Language

Read the poem again carefully and see if you can explore how the language contributes to the poet's message:

* The contrast that we first see in the title (warm/cold) is continued throughout the poem: we are presented with a description of the cold landscape first, then read of the animals who remain warm even in the depths of winter.

* Both the cold and the