The Theme of Humanity in the Poem Hawk Roosting
The Theme of Humanity in the Poem "Hawk Roosting" "Hawk Roosting" is one of Ted Hughes' many poems which describes nature and animal savagery. In this particular work, Hughes details the characteristics of a regal hawk, ruling over its domain. Although it may seem to be a simple descriptive piece, "Hawk Roosting" actually maintains a "duality" throughout each verse. Not only is it a vivid description of a living being, the poem is Ted Hughes' critique on humanity. Beneath its surface is a stark reminder of how our weaknesses are degrading us into common animals. The first verse paints a scene of a hawk resting on the treetops: "I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed Inaction, no falsifying dream Between my hooked head and hooked feet: Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat." Straight away the poem asserts the dominance of the bird. The words "Top of the wood" suggests the hawk is a predator, high up in the food chain. It is also an animal that lives for hunting as every day it will "rehearse perfect kills and eat" in its dreams. Similarities can be drawn which shows that we are just like the hawk. Humans dominate the world and we constantly invent new ways of simplifying our lives. At the most basic level, we "kill and eat" like all animals do. The writer uses this verse to establish the hawk as a symbol of all humanity. Therefore, when he further
A Critical Comparison Of Ted Hughes Poems: The Stag And Roe-Deer.
A Critical Comparison Of Ted Hughes Poems: The Stag And Roe-Deer. By Jodie Shane A Critical Comparison Of Ted Hughes Poems: The Stag And Roe-Deer There are six stanzas, which are each seven lines long. This is written in free verse, it has no rhyming scheme and there is no rhythm that I can see. The lines are about ten words long, apart from the last two lines, which are shorter. The title is simple and straightforward. It is significant that the whole of the stanza is about people except for the last line, which is about the stag, keeping a distinction between the two. The poem is set at Exmoor, which is well known for stag hunting. Exmoor is in the countryside and has a low population, so the idea of a traffic jam there is unusual. The presence of so many people is ludicrous. It takes place in November, a month associated with death and misery. The Stag is written in the third person singular, it is through the eyes of an unattached observer. This poem is about a hunt, and the prey is a stag that is running elegantly through the surrounding countryside. There are lots of spectators and one of them; we are led to believe, is describing the events of the pursuit. This poem is proud and refined at the beginning; a stag is running through his fields and over his forests. This idea is beautiful and natural. The poem then, however quickly turns sour and the gracefulness is
Concentrating on one Poem by each Poet, Compare and Contrast the ways in which Hughes and Wordsworth Present Man's Relationship with Nature
Concentrating on one Poem by each Poet, Compare and Contrast the ways in which Hughes and Wordsworth Present Man's Relationship with Nature Both Hughes and Wordsworth have beliefs about man's relationship with nature, but I feel that they see the relationship between the two in different ways. Hughes has a more pessimistic and negative approach, feeling that nature must protect herself from man's destructive nature, while Wordsworth believes that nature is a teacher and nurtures you. Wordsworth uses a more optimistic and positive approach in his poetry. Wordsworth sees nature in a romantic and spiritual sense that protects and is constantly feeding and inspiring man's mind and helping it to grow. On the other hand Hughes sees man as interfering and destructive towards nature and is excluded from its harmony. Hughes personality is much more complicated and hard to deal with, so to speak, than Wordsworth's; this is reflected in his attitude towards nature because he thinks that nature is a violent and brutal enemy towards man and even itself. From this you can tell that he is quite a brooding and depressive man. I have chosen to compare 'Work and Play' by Hughes and by Wordsworth I have chosen 'Expostulation and Reply' and 'The Tables Turned' which are poems on the same subject but 'The Tables Turned' is set later on in the day and is the 'Companion-Piece' to 'Expostulation and
Remind yourself of 'Tractor.' How far and in what ways do you think this is a characteristic Ted Hughes poem.
Remind yourself of 'Tractor.' How far and in what ways do you think this is a characteristic Ted Hughes poem. "Tractor" has a lot of similarities with a lot of Ted Hughes other poems. It has the same viewpoint raised in it that is raised in quite a few of his other poems. There is an obvious struggle between nature and mankind although the tractor seems to be leaning more towards the side of nature. The fight continues with the progression of events. The outcome of the poem is inevitable because in a typical Ted Hughes fashion poem nature wins against man. It seems impossible for anyone to stay out in the extremely cold weather for another moment, which proves that in some cases nature is more dominant than mankind. "Eyes weeping in the wind of chloroform." The strength of nature is revealed by the language and imagery used in "Tractor." "A spill of molten ice, smoking snow." Ted Hughes uses a lot of compound words and oxymoron's in his poems, which either contradict one another or create emphasis on the extreme weather. In contrast humans who are in direct contact with nature humiliate themselves yet they ridicule something that is out of their grasp. "It ridicules me- a trap of iron stupidity." Usually things fight against nature but the tractor just gives in by "sinking into its hell of ice." Here Ted Hughes uses the word "hell" to create a strong and vivid image to
'The Horses' by Ted Hughes.
'The Horses' by Ted Hughes - Homework I think that the central idea / theme in the poem is mainly the peace and silence of the setting and the surrounding area, and this is evident from the emphasis the poet has put on this. For example "a frost - making stillness, Not a leaf, not a bird, - A world cast in frost. I came out above the wood". The poet has made great use of metaphors in this poem, using them to his advantage, as it gives the reader a vivid picture of the scene he is trying to portray, here at the start and throughout the rest of the poem. Another significant place where this technique is used is "Grey silent fragments Of a grey silent world." Here this is very effective because it gives the reader the impression of a totally 'empty' place, silent, cold and where the narrator is completely alone - like the way that some people can come to feel in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The theme of silence is developed in this way throughout the entire poem, mainly by using metaphors very effectively, accompanied by vivid description e.g. "The curlew's tear turned its edge on the silence. Slowly detail leafed from the darkness. Then the sun Orange, red, red erupted." I think that this particular quote is very beautiful, as it almost identifies a 'break' in the silence, as if everything was gradually starting to 'come back to life'. Also the
When you start to read wind you get the impression that it is going to be a poem about a house on a windy day.
When you start to read wind you get the impression that it is going to be a poem about a house on a windy day. However this is not the case. The author is trying to illustrate how fierce Mother Nature's army can be. He is making it seem as though the wind is fighting the house and it's human inhabitants. The wind is trying to scare the people, by isolating it, from the rest of civilisation, for the night. "The house has been far out to sea all night". As the wind travels across the countryside it's destructive qualities become apparent, scaring the people almost to death. " The woods crashing through the darkness". The wind is using the surrounding hills to its advantage by making impacting noise that seems to echo across the valley. "The booming hills". As well as all this the wind continues it terrorising by stamping like a herd of elephants under the windowsills in the flowerbeds. "Winds stampeding the fields under the window". The poet tries to illustrate the winds power and strength by saying that the house had become adrift overnight and the wind had carried it to a new location. "The hills had new places". As the wind moved ad danced in the air it gave off colours that surrounded the little house, making it difficult to see past the garden. "Luminous black and emerald, flexing like the lens of a mad eye." At midday one of the inhabitants bravely went outside to
The Fish is an interesting poem which illustrates an encounter with a "tremendous" fish. The animal is anything but beautiful and is described in almost sick-like detail. In the end the speaker releases the fish with joy.
The Fish is an interesting poem which illustrates an encounter with a "tremendous" fish. The animal is anything but beautiful and is described in almost sick-like detail. In the end the speaker releases the fish with joy. My reasoning for this is that the speaker understands the years of fighting the fish gave to survive. A sense of "victory" was felt, and there was no other reason for the fish to be kept. The poem is written in the first person, and the author is indeed the fisherperson who is describing their catch. This would mean the persona of this poem is someone who is experienced in fishing and is telling a story of one of the fishing trips they took. The first line of the poem the author starts out by declaring that they had "caught this tremendous fish." The words allow you to imagine this fish in your mind (imagery). With this image imprinted in the readers mind the author then describes that the fish did not fight, which in most cases would seem odd. The average person would know that a fish would usually put up a struggle before they finally were brought in. The author had back to back lines claiming that it indeed did not fight which was done to make a point. This is no ordinary fish and the fisherperson knows that. Similes and metaphors are frequent throughout the rest of the poem. Descriptions of the fish are very dark and unsightly. An example
Commentary On Thistle By Ted Hughes
Commentary On Thistle By Ted Hughes Ted Hughes was born in 1930 and since then throughout his life many wars have occurred during this time. Ted Hughes's poem Thistle portrays the events of war and what it truly represents. Simply the title itself 'Thistle' is an exceptional word, which adequately suites the poems image for the reason being that the first icon the reader captures is a sharp pain afflicting object. A thistle is a sharp pointed plant, a harsh plant, cold and pointy only there to damage its surroundings in exposure. This idea and image of war being like the formidable injuring spikes of a thistle that Hughes presents is supported throughout the poem by a selection of dextrous language. The first two stanzas use a powerful and fierce form of language such as 'spike', 'crackle', 'splintered', and 'Icelandic frost'. All these words are strong fierce words that are inharmonious. This may be perhaps to show the description of war itself the actual event or field. Whereas stanzas three and four uses a less forceful quality of words such as 'pale hair', 'grow grey', 'sons appear'. This divergent form of language is softer and calmer, which diverts the poem towards the events after the war and what happens to the soldiers after the county has used them up in their battle for freedom. This point of the split stanzas can be supported by the layout of the poem. The
Using a Selection of 20th Century Poems Compare and Contrast the Treatment of Nature and the Environment In the Works of the Poets You Have Chosen
USING A SELECTION OF 20TH CENTURY POEMS COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE TREATMENT OF NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE WORKS OF THE POETS YOU HAVE CHOSEN In the first half of the 20th century the main form of entertainment in the home was still reading books and poetry. Not many people had televisions even when they were first invented so poetry was a much more important part of peoples' recreation. Despite the increase in new modern technology much poetry was about nature or used nature in a variety of ways to portray other meanings to the poem or emotions. A lot of poetry was also written about the environment around people which is always changing. The poets showed how they saw the world themselves. Many more of the poems than in the 19th century or before were very personal. More poets wrote about their lives and childhood or about what they thought about certain issues. This was interesting very often and was very popular. Some of the poets such as Sylvia Plath also had very deep personal troubles and this was shown in the poems. This also made a more interesting read for many people because it was new and different. In this coursework piece I will analyse some poems written in the earlier part of the 20th century and compare them. I will look at the ways in which each poem has used nature and the environment. The poems I have chosen to study are "Blackberrying" by Sylvia
Examine the significance and treatment of the natural world in the poetry of one or more writers from the module. The poets Ted Hughes and Dylan Thomas.
EN1 014 - Twentieth-Century English Poetry - An Introduction Martin Matthews Total Words - 1713 Word used in Quotes - 203 Word Count - 1510 Examine the significance and treatment of the natural world in the poetry of one or more writers from the module. The poets Ted Hughes and Dylan Thomas both explore the beauty of the natural world and at the same time the cruelty and violence contained in it. This is apparent in Hughes's poem 'Pike'. Pike, Three inches long, perfect Pike in all parts, green tigering the gold. Hughes uses the opening two lines of the poem to express the magnificence of the pike and how the pike would seem to be 'perfect' in every way. Killers from the egg the malevolent aged grin In the third line due to the introduction of 'killers' Hughes breaks the 'perfect' image of the Pike in the poem. The audience is made to realise due to the juxtaposition of beauty and violence, that this perfect creation of nature is made to kill and destroy other 'perfect' creations. Of course it could be said that the pike is a 'perfect' killer, so therefore the pike is still perfect, the perfect predator. They dance on the surface among the flies. Or move, stunned by their own grandeur, Over a bed of emerald, silhouette Of submarine delicacy and horror. The above quote is an example of the contrast between the beauty and ugliness of nature. When Hughes
