The Poems of Ted Hughes Literary Elements

Ted Hughes' poem 'Full Moon and Little Frieda.' Hughes writes here from the third person narrative perspective. The speaker also addresses someone, presumably 'Little Frieda,' who us mentioned in the title, using the second person inclusive pronoun, 'you.' This 'you,' also speaks within the poem through indirect speech.

Ted Hughes' poem 'Full Moon and Little Frieda.' - This poem is written in two regular quintets and a non-rhyming couplet. It is predominately not rhymed, and therefore is written in Blank Verse, which allows for a more natural reflection on the moon and surrounding nature, as would be described in a normal conversation, rather than in a song-like rhyme. The rhythm is generally irregular, which again adds to the unpredictability of nature and the narration of these events in a natural tone.

Ted Hughes' poem 'Full Moon and Little Frieda.' - As this poem is describing the moon and the natural environment surrounding Frieda as she marvels at the moon, imagery such as metaphors and similes, is very important. One example of a metaphor in the first stanza is 'mirror / To tempt a first star to a tremor.' This metaphor is used to describe a 'pail' full of water, and rather vividly depicts the heavenly sky from a different perspective. The nouns 'mirror' and 'tremor,' are a half-rhyme, which links them together and describes the rippling nature of the water's surface as it reflects the first star appearing in the sky as if it is trembling.

Another metaphorical phrase is the opening line, 'A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark...' This reduces the picturesque night to the observations and sensory revelations of the speaker as he observes Little Frieda exploring the night-time scene and being fascinated by the moon.

The final sentence of this poem, which is created using enjambment over two lines is 'The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work.' Not only is this an example of personification, but it is also a simile, which presents the moon as just as much in awe of Frieda as she is of it. It gives the moon a creative personality and its own journey in enjoying the sights and sounds of the night

Ted Hughes' poem 'Full Moon and Little Frieda.' - the soft, breath-like alliteration of ' looping the hedges with their warm wreaths of breath, as well as the assonance of the long 'ea' sound, complimented by the consonance of 'th,' all allow for the reader to feel the breath of the 'cows going home in the lane there.' As this is a very sensory poem, using sight, sound and touch to depict the night that the speaker describes and undoubtedly Little Frieda experiences in her own way, these sound effects send a feeling of warm breath looping around them, a feeling rather than a sound, although created with sound devices.

The poem 'Old Age Gets Up' is ironic, as it is exactly the opposite of what is expected when old age comes around. This irony creates a strength and determined tone, perhaps to mobilise the older generation and let them know that they are not dead yet, and that life can be lived even in old age. An example of this in the poem is ,'Old age slowly gets dressed / Heavily dosed with death's night / Sits on the bed's edge...' Therefore, even if one is at the edge of death, this poem strives to show the strength and worth in continuing on as normal until it is no longer possible.

'Full Moon and Little Frieda' is a nature and realist poem.

Tim Hughes' 'Full Moon and Little Frieda.' It is set on 'A cool small evening,' which appears to be enjoyed i the country. close to nature, with clear skies, where the stars can be seen.

In the poem 'Theology' there is an almost satirical and ironic tone, to emphasise and highlight the problem and danger with too much focus on theology rather than the Biblical text.

In 'Theology,' the protagonists are Adam and Eve and the Antagonist is the serpent.

In the poem 'Thistles,' Hughes presents a conflict between the thistles and humans in the last stanza in particular. It reads, 'Then they grow grey like men,' a simile emphasised by alliteration, 'Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear / Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground.' These words describe a battle between the ageing thistles, who are similar to humans in that they grow old and more withered with time. yet the human beings destroy them, prompting an attempt to overcome on their offspring's part. This is produced only because the seeds of their fathers have been spread on the same ground, probably aided by the mowing process. In this way, there is also conflict between whether the mowing is necessary to produce the sons in the first place, or whether it is just cruel behaviour.

In the poem 'Crow's Fall,' the second stanza and two lines thereafter are a climax of the plot of this poem, creating a tense tone and a sense of suspense as the crow attacks the sun. The climax is highlighted by three sentences in a row, 'He got his strength up flush and in full glitter. / He clawed and fluffed his rage up. / He aimed his beak direct at the sun's centre.' Each stage shows the bird preparing to attack the sun, and each builds the suspense as the reader prepares for the attack. Then the event itself happens 'He laughed himself to the centre of himself / And attacked.'

In the poem 'Lovesong,' the tone of the first stanza foreshadows the grim ending, 'In the morning they wore each other's faces.' The strange and harsh tone, revealing the woman's apparent taking of her lover's identity instils in the reader a sense of uneasiness which culminates at the end of the poem.

In 'Earth-Moon,' the final sentence, 'He walked on / Into moonless night / Carrying his strange trophy,' is an understatement of the drastic consequences of the moon being taken and the gravity of the situation.

In the poem 'Theology,' there are allusions to the Creation story in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, as it relays characters such as 'Adam' and 'Eve.' However, the purpose of this poem is to actually use satire to present a 'corruption of the facts,' as truth, reversing the role of the Bible and the misuse of theology to make the reader aware of the dangers of misinterpreting the Bible in theological debates and in getting caught up in the little things that are not mentioned explicitly. An example of a completely made up part of this allusion is the monosyllabic, simple sentence, 'Eve ate Adam,' which is not part of the original Biblical text.

In 'Thrushes,' the subject of Stanza three, 'a man,' is synecdoche as it refers to all of mankind, rather than just one man, which generalises and universalises the message of the poem.

Ted Hughes' poem 'Wind' - The lines 'seeing the window tremble to come in, / Hearing the stones cry out under the horizons,' reveal two instances of personification, both of the window and the stones. The trembling of the window shows the strength and power of the wind, and how cold it is, whilst reflecting the fear of those inside, who are safe, but seem to internally tremble at the sound and force of the wind. The crying stones also reveal the almost unnaturally powerful wind in the scenes depicted in this poem, as usually stones are represented as strong and immovable, undeterred by any force. this just emphasises the great force of the wind described here.

Ted Hughes' poem 'Wind.' - The phrase, 'Through the brunt wind that dented the balls of my eyes,' is definitely hyperbole, as it over-exaggerates and stretches the true effects of the wind on the eyes, for dramatic effect. This engages the reader with the strength and power of the wind, however, as the usual watery eyes associated with wind in the eyes has become something more permanent, a dent, in the speaker's eyes here.

Ted Hughes' poem, 'Full Moon and Little Frieda.' - The phrase, 'the clank of the bucket,' is onomatopoeic, and allows the reader to experience the sounds of this relatively peaceful night by hearing this sonorous sound, which compliments the 'dog bark,' and juxtaposes against the stillness of the rest of the night, making it more enigmatic.