"What are Ted Hughes' Ideas about poetry, and how have they been
"What are Ted Hughes' Ideas about poetry, and how have they been used in his poems, 'The Jaguar' and 'The Thought-Fox'?" Ted Hughes, was born in 1939 and died in 1989, he wrote two poems, The Jaguar and The Thought-Fox. These are the poems that I am discussing in my essay and also what his ideas are on the poems. He also specialises in nature poems and these are what we have also been studying. The Thought-Fox is quite a different poem. It wasn't written about the fox it was written about him writing about the fox (confusing I Know!!!). The Jaguar on the other hand, was about the animal and it was describing the animal, can you tell the difference and how he likes to differ his poems "You don't have to bother about commas or full stops or that sort of thing" to Ted punctuation is not important, but the senses are: " Just look at it, touch it, smell it, listen to it, turn yourself into it" as he believes senses are there to help you. If you write a poem completely different to another poet and you are worried about your work,/ Ted believes that you should not care about what other people have written it is your own work that matters and how you find it " Do not care how other people have written about this thing, this is the way you find it". With 'The Thought-Fox' he thinks that a fox comes and walks in front of him and sits down, so he gets this image in his head and
Pike by Ted Hughes
Dave Lang Folio assignment Choose a poem you studied recently which challenges the reader to view something familiar in a new and thought provoking way. Pike Ted Hughes Stanzas one to four of the poem are there to describe the Pike, its nature, what it looks like and it's destiny in nature as a predator. The poet, Ted Hughes, in writing this poem challenges the reader to view nature in a totally new perspective by exploring the power and violence in it by using one animal in river life, the Pike, since the Pike is the supreme species of fish in river life he uses it to full extend to show the power and violence of nature. Hughes starts the poem with "Pike, three inches long, perfect" using this as a start to describing the Pike, he begins to build up the Pike's image as a predator, always being a predator with no change required through evolution therefore using "perfect" as another way of saying that the pike was designed perfectly as a predator and will never need to change as it will always remain supreme in its habitat. "Pike in all parts, green tigering the gold" the use of the word "tigering" giving a comparison of the Pike to the Tiger, completely different creatures but in their own worlds they are just as deadly as each other, the Tiger being supreme in the jungle just as the Pike is supreme in the river. "Killers from the egg" using this Hughes re-enforces
“A pink wool knitted dress,” by Ted Hughes and “Sonnet XLIII” (43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Love Poetry Coursework By Eithne Mc Crory. The two poems I have selected to compare and contrast are, "A pink wool knitted dress," by Ted Hughes and "Sonnet XLIII" (43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The first poem I intend to analyse is, "A pink wool knitted dress." This poem is not written along conventional lines, since it does not employ the use of sonnet or stanzas of four lines. Indeed there are three lines in the first stanza while the fourth stanza could be a sonnet in itself as it consists of fourteen lines. All the other stanzas are of differing lengths as are the lengths of the lines. In terms of rhyme in many of the poems I have previously read the last word in each line often rhymes with the last word in the next line or the second next line. This sort of rhyming occurs in Barrett Browning Sonnet XLIII where the second and third lines rhyme as do the first and fourth. This pattern continues throughout the poem. Hughes writes in run on sentences, some of which carry on into the next line, in fact the style and structure of the poem reminds me more of a piece of prose than a poem. One might consider it to be reminiscent of Shakespeare's blank verse it could of course also be modern style free verse. This poem itself focuses on Hughes' wedding day. In the initial verses, he talks about himself, about the absence of his family, his best man who was the
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
