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Questions on Ted Hughes Poetry

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The Thought Fox

1. Title
a. What association is there with the animal, the fox? What characteristics does a fox
stereotypically have?
b. How may this association be connected with cognition (thought process?) Speed
2. Stanza One
a. The poem begins with I imagine what is the significance of having the first person
singular pronoun at the start of the poem. What impact does the verb imagine
have on the reader and how they may interpret what is to come?
b. Consider the two phrases the clocks loneliness and this blank page. What does
Hughes try to create in tone and atmosphere using these two phrases initially?
c. Line two reads something else is alive the sense of realisation is key to Hughes
poetry and becomes a pattern of his anthologies. What do you think it means?
d. Is there a sense of foreboding? Explain
e. How is enjambment used in this stanza and to what effect?
3. Stanza Two
a. Line 1 and line 4 of this stanza use terminal caesura, why do you think that is?
b. This stanza creates a deep feeling of darkness with something more near? Why is
Hughes creating this expectant / anxious / concerned atmosphere? (consider that
we havent seen the fox yet)
c. What do you think is the connection between Hughes consciousness and the
darkness?
d. The verb tense suggests that this is present. What impact does this have on the
reader and the interpretation?
e. At this point the persona seems to disappear with the emerging of the fox. Why has
Hughes withdrawn the persona?
4. Stanza Three
a. The first description of the fox is the word Cold; how does this add to the
atmosphere created by the presence of the fox?
b. This stanza evokes the foxs movements. What impression do you get of the fox
through the movement? Be as specific as possible
c. What is achieved by the fourfold repetition of the word now?
d. Why do you think that Hughes has used enjambement across the two stanzas here?
And indeed for the remainder of the poem.
e. This uses significant caesura through the stanza. What effect does this have on the
cadence of the poem?
5. Stanza Four
a. How might neat prints in the snow be seen to have a punning effect?
b. The foxs shadow lags almost broken the shadow as it lands on the terrain
represented through stump and in hollow. Why do you think it is considered
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lame? And how does Hughes use the seemingly separated fox and shadow to
develop his thought
c. Look at the syllabic rhythm used in Shadow lags by stump and in hollow. This uses
heavy front-stressed syllables which slows the pace, how does this change with the
next line of a body that is bold to come?
6. Stanza Five
a. In your own words summarise what you think this stanzas purpose is? What does it
add to the poem?
b. There is a second mention of the foxs eye. Why do you think this is emphasised?
c. What impact do the adverbs in line 3 add to the poem?
7. Stanza Six
a. Hughes almost juxtaposes the first and last stanza through the use of the clock.
Explain how this may be interpreted?
b. The stink of fox comes from their glands similar to that of a skunk. Foxes are known
for their smell in the UK, particularly the well known red fox. Why does Hughes
draw attention to this point in the poem?
c. What head does he refer to?
d. What relevance does the night sky have, considering that it has not changed from
stanza 2.
e. The final lines the window is starless still; the clock tick, the page is printed has
echoes of Christopher Marlows Dr Faustus the stars move still; time runs, the clock
will strike. Both lines tend to show there are limits to what the persona can achieve,
Faustus cannot stop time and Hughes must return to the real world.
8. Overall
a. There is no defined rhyme or rhythm to this poem. Why do you think this is the
case?
b. The form of the poem is rigidly rooted in quatrains yet there is no pattern of rhyme
or rhythm, why do you think Hughes did this?
c. How does Hughes incorporate the 5 senses of imagery (visual, gustatory, aural,
kinesthetic and olfactory) throughout the poem?
d. Hughes has often been described by literary critics, and by himself, as a Shaman
poet (someone who can conjure both good and bad spirits). How does your
interpretation of the poem fit with this?
e. What does the fox symbolise to you? Explain your answer.
f. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)

Quote Technique Effect

The clocks personification Hughes is exemplifying the extreme silence of his situation.
loneliness The attribution of loneliness may be mirroring Hughes
own frustration or sense of isolation in being unable to
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complete the expected task and he finds this amplified

through the perhaps aural clock tick.

Song
1. Title
a. Think of the connotations of a song. The lyrical quality of it. The tunefulness.
Consider how this title creates a tone to the poem. Does Hughes live up to this?
2. Stanza One
a. Hughes was a student at Cambridge when he wrote this, he was 19. One of his areas
of study was mythology and, specifically Goddesses - how does Hughes show the
idea of a muse here?
b. The poem can be said to be an apostrophe poem in that it addresses a recipient
directly. What tone or attitude towards the subject can be seen here?
c. In this cinquain (5 lined stanza) Hughes talks about the goddesses mercurial nature
(unpredictable changes in mood). Give examples of words and phrases which
suggest this.
d. What do you think the difficult stars are representing?
e. Look closely at the rhyme scheme. Why do you think Hughes has presented this
fairly traditional rhyme.
3. Stanza Two
a. For the second time a stanza begins with O Lady creating an anaphora, what is the
effect of this repetition?
b. How might the first 4 lines of stanza two show the writing process and the muse as
central?
c. What do you think is the meaning of the final line?
4. Stanza Three
a. In the opening line of this stanza the romantic imagery is continued with kissed,
look at the first three stanzas and consider why this imagery has been used each
time.
b. How might this stanza represent the fickleness and fleeting nature of romantic
relationships?
c. Why do you think Hughes has manipulated the syntax of the fourth line? What
effect does this have on the flow of the poem?
d. There is little punctuation in this stanza, in particular, why do you think that is?
e. Look at the final line of each of the first three stanzas, punctuated with negative
imagery, how does this contrast the opening lines? Why do you think Hughes has
done this?
5. Stanza Four
a. There is a change in the number of lines in the stanza, why do you think this has
been done?
b. The ending of the poem seems to leave the poet exhausted and empty; to what
extent does this represent the creative process as Hughes sees it?
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c. The image of the moon is repeated in this final stanza, why might this be? How does
the cyclical nature of the moon connect with the cyclical nature of this poem?
6. Overall
a. What is the significance of the repeated phrase O my lady? What is the importance
of the possessive adjective?
b. How does this exemplify Hughes love for mythology?
c. Is the lady addressed in the poem a physical woman, the lady as a muse, or the
creative writing process? Explain your answer.
d. In what ways is this almost Shakespearean in both form and language?
e. Explain the symbolism of the moon.
f. Do your own research into mythology and goddesses and explore the significance of
the natural imagery presented in the poem.
g. Identify the rhythm patterns used in the poem.
h. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)

Quote Technique Effect

O lady Apostrophe, Hughes begins each of the stanzas with the anaphoric
addressing the O lady suggesting a deep rooted connection with the
goddess / muse, representation of the goddess he sees as a muse. The
ode affection with which he addresses the recipient is
indicative of his close bond with the subject and may
highlight his naivety at the age of nineteen when he wrote
the poem.
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The Jaguar
1. Title
a. What associations / connotations are there with the big cat? What do you think of
when you think of the animal.
b. How does the use of the definite article affect the tone?
2. Stanza One
a. The use of listing of the animals creates an atmosphere, but of what?
b. All animals are afflicted by something, go through and identify how they are affected
by these pains.
c. This stanza, and the remaining stanzas uses a shifting pattern of full and half rhyme,
why do you think hughes has used this?
d. Like in The Thought Fox Hughes has used quatrains to develop the narrative of the
poem. Explain why you think he has used this form.
e. What does indolence mean? Explain this line in as much detail as possible.
3. Stanza Two
a. There is enjambment across the first two stanzas, what effect does this have on the
attitude presents of the lion and tiger?
b. Hughes has used medial caesura in this stanza, what does this add to the pace and
therefore interpretation of the poem?
c. There is a reference to a nursery in this stanza, explore the possible ramifications of
this connection / reference. What does it allude to?
d. What are the sleepers from the breathing straw?
4. Stanza Three
a. The first word in this stanza works almost like a volta, how and why might this be the
case?
b. The Jaguar is presented as a feature of the poem both literally and metaphorically.
Explain how this is the case from this stanza.
c. Why do you think Hughes has continued the motif of innocence, firstly the reference
to the nursery wall, and now with the simile as a child?
d. What is the impression of the temperament of the jaguar in this stanza?
e. The verb drills connects with the predatory nature of the jaguar but creates a
disconcerting atmosphere. Explore this use of vocabulary.
f. Consider the excitement of the crowd in this stanza, how may this nervous energy
connect with the power and energy of the cat?
5. Stanza Four
a. Again Hughes adopts enjambment across the two stanzas, why do you think this is
the case at this point?
b. The tone of the language is much more aggressive here, choose 2 or 3 words or
phrases and explain the significance of them.
c. The jaguar is objectively caged by the bars, but is subjectively free as the cat is
unaware of the idea of imprisonment. How does this relate to the psyche of man?
What part of the poem discusses this?
6. Stanza Five
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a. Explain in as much detail as you can, what you think Hughes is presenting in the final
stanza, to what extent is the jaguar something to be feared, or revered, or both?
b. The reference to wildernesses of freedom suggest there is no cage holding the cat
back, how might this be the case?
7. Overall
a. The jaguar outlines the ferocity and predatory aspects of the Jaguar as a beast of
nature. How does Hughes use language to create this link and focus?
b. Hughes was a military man, what impact can you see the military and war zone may
have on him in writing this poem?
c. This is a response from Hughes to the poem Der Panther - a German poem by
Rainer Maria Rilke written in 1902. Both are about caged animals, and both have big
cats as their subjects. Do some research on the poem Der Panther - you will need
to use the translation - and comment on how they compare.
d. How does the movement of the jaguar get accentuated by the poem form?
e. In one reading, a critic refers to the jaguar being representative of the inner life of
ones self which may be ignored by consciousness or ego but cannot be repressed.
To what extent do you agree with this?
f. How does Hughes see part of himself as the jaguar? What do you think the other
animals may be symbolic of as a result?
g. In a series of essays Hughes wrote that souls are the world within our bodies. Does
The Jaguar exemplify this? If so, how?
h. How are we childlike consumers of caged displays? Is the Jaguar superior to us? If
so, in what way?
i. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)

Quote Technique Effect

Strut like cheap simile Hughes seems to denigrate the appearance of the other
tarts to attract animals in this menagerie or zoo perhaps to provide a
the stroller contrast between the less significant animals in Hughes
view to that of the Jaguar. The withholding of the
appearance of the Jaguar creates a tone of ambiguity and
anxiety.
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Meeting
1. Title
a. A meeting can refer to a business sit down conversation or a connection between
two people; therefore the title is ambiguous. Why do you think Hughes creates this
ambiguity?
2. Stanza One
a. Notice the structure of the tercets (three line stanzas) why do you think Hughes has
set out the poem using this indented way?
b. The persona of the poem is male, other than the masculine use of pronoun, how can
you tell this?
c. What does the smile suggest about the persona? Is he demonstrating elements of
pride or vanity?
d. Note the use of elongated vowel sounds over the course of the first two lines, what
does this imply about the personas view of the world?
e. For what purpose do you think the subject is shrinking the world to a trinket?
f. How the colon being used in the first line?
3. Stanza Two
a. Who was Faustus? Why is this allusion used? What elements of the character Dr
Faustus are being connected with?
b. The fling [of] a cape may allude to the Elizabethan love for theatre - how?
c. Beginning a sentence with a coordinating conjunction (But) is technically incorrect
syntax, why would he use it here?
d. What does outloom mean?
e. How is contrast used in this stanza? What is Hughes comment on man here?
4. Stanza Three
a. Why might the colour of the goat be significant?
b. Look at the use of harsh consonant sounds throughout this stanza, consider why this
has been used.
c. How is the goat presented as threatening? What actions create this tone?
d. Why is the position of the goat important?
5. Stanza Four
a. What antagonistic features are presented about the goat in this stanza?
b. Why do you think Hughes has used a goat for this meeting?
c. What is the general perception of goats?
d. What connotations are associated with black devil? Black has been repeated in this
poem, why is this?
e. The colour contrast of the black and the blue here is used for an effect, what is that
effect? What other idiomatic connotations of black and blue are there?
f. What do you think the gigantic fingers refer to?
6. Stanza Five
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a. Do you think this is still referencing the goat at this point? Consider the use of hand
imagery here.
b. How has the attitude of the persona changed from stanza one?
c. What do you think Hughes subject is imagining at this point?
d. How is the mans vulnerability and insecurity / insignificance created in this stanza?
e. Why is the eye presented as a hanging hemisphere? What is a hemisphere?
7. Stanza Six
a. What does the blood symbolise?
b. Why has the author used the repetition of and? This technique is called
polysyndeton
c. The goat is described using the verb clattered twice in the poem - what
connotation is there with this word?
d. What has the man learnt from this experience?
e. Do you think the man will return to smiling at the mirror? Why / why not?
8. Whole Poem
a. Hughes uses a loose terza rima rhyme scheme (aba bcb cdc etc) where the middle
line of the tercet (triplet) creates the rhyme for the next stanza. Where does this
rhyme break down, and for what reason?
b. The rhyme scheme is very complex in terms of traditional forms. What might this
suggest about the psyche of the subject?
c. There is strong suggestion that the goat is numinous meaning it is connected with
divinity. Do you think this is the case?
d. Aristotle linked revelatory events with a concept called tuche. Do you think this has
elements of a divine revelation?
e. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)

Quote Technique Effect

Shrinking the Verb / hyperbole Hughes presents the subject of the text as prideful and vain
whole sun- in their view of themselves. So much is this level of pride
swung zodiac of that he considers the world and universe is that of a trinket
light to a trinket for his manipulation. The level of egotistical self thought
becomes the basis for his eventual revelatory incident.
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October Dawn
1. Title
a. Consider this from a northern hemisphere point of view. What season is the month
of October known for?
b. What colours are associated with that season?
c. What colours are associated with dawn?
2. Stanza One
a. Hughes continues the colour motif with the introduction of the marigold. What
colour are these flowers? How does it relate to the season and the time of day?
b. What other connotations are there with this colour?
c. The caesura on the first line creates a pause for effect, why do you think this is
based upon the next line?
d. What impression do you get of the glass half full? What idiomatic phrase is Hughes
linking to here?
e. Explain in your own words the significance of the half glass of wine.
3. Stanza Two
a. Why do you think the adjective dark is used for heaven?
b. What is a premonition?
c. How does Hughes create a tone of anxiety here? Is this foreboding? How? Why?
d. Explore the metaphorical use of verb dreamed.
4. Stanza Three
a. Similarly in Wind, Hughes uses natural forces to demonstrate strength and
destructive force of weather. How does this poem show this idea?
b. A lot of Hughes imagery is metaphoric, some critics argue that his imagery of the
weather conditions may be representative of the subconscious and that this part of
human identity can be cruel, menacing and destructive. To what extent do you think
this is the case?
c. This is the first time that there is a terminal caesura at the end of this stanza which is
the first time in the poem. Why do you think Hughes has dragged the sentence out
over the three stanzas?
5. Stanza Four
a. The lawn overtrodden is suggestive of being used to excess. How does this relate to
stanza one?
b. What tone is created through this imagery?
c. The lawn appears to be vulnerable. What atmosphere is created in this stanza.
d. Why do you think the green shrubbery is whistling?
6. Stanza Five
a. Why is doomed followed by the full stop? What effect is Hughes trying to create?
b. This stanza gives the impression of ice as antagonistic. How?
c. What is the spearhead being presented here? What is Hughes referring to?
7. Stanza Six
a. The skin and ripple have connotations of the start of something. What is the start
here?
b. The adverb delicately has its own interpretations, explain them.
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c. How does the tone change in this stanza?

8. Stanza Seven
a. How is the ice presented in this first line? What is a rivet?
b. What is a brook?
c. How is the ice compared to machinery here?
d. Why has Hughes used the image of chain and lock?
9. Stanza Eight
a. Explain what you think Hughes means with the ice holding rivers.
b. What do you think the phrase sound by sight means.
c. What connection is Hughes making with Mammoth and Saber-tooth?
d. Why may they celebrate?
10. Stanza Nine
a. Consider the imagery of a fist of cold. How does Hughes explore the natural power
of the ice?
b. How is winter shown to be such a powerful force?
c. Winter becomes all encompassing here. What is Hughes ultimately trying to present
to the reader through these descriptions?
d. How does the title relate to this part of the poem?
11. Stanza Ten
a. Note the repetition of this line. Why do you think Hughes has done this?
b. Hughes uses the technique of foregrounding in this repetition. This means to bring a
certain idea to the forefront. What is the idea he is trying to push here?
c. How does Hughes create an anxiousness about winter in this final stanza?
12. Whole Poem
a. The image of autumn seems to be the beginning of the end. Explain why this might
be.
b. The poem is written in half-rhyming couplets. What effect does this have on the
poem?
c. Look at the use of adverbial linkers in the final few stanzas, first...soon then.and
now Why do you think Hughes creates this linkage?
d. Seamus Heaney once wrote that this poem shows how the awesome factors of
nature triumph over the little world of man. What do you think this means?
e. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)
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Football at Slack

1. Title
a. Comment on the associations of the word slack.
b. Slack is a small hamlet near the city of Huddersfield in Yorkshire. It is typical of many
villages and small settlements of the English countryside. Why do you think Hughes
chose such a setting for his poem?
c. What tone does the title set for the rest of the poem?
2. Stanza One
a. Which words create a sense of smallness and insignificance in stanza one?
b. What is unusual about Hughes usage of the word bounced in this poem
c. How does the image of men in bunting colours contrast with the opening line of the
poem? What is the effect of this contrast?
d. Consider Hughes alliteration and use of the plosive B sound. What effects does this
create?
3. Stanza Two
a. Identify the personification in line 4. How is this similar to the movement of the men
described in stanza 1? What parallels between the ball and men do these
descriptions make obvious?
b. How does the terminal caesura in line 5 alter your reading of the next line?
c. How does Hughes suggest a lack of human control in line 6 of the poem?
4. Stanza Three
a. What does the adjective rubbery suggest about Hughes view of the players
(consider it in conjunction with the words merry-coloured and bunting used to
describe them earlier)?
b. What gives line 7 of the poem a pathetic or ridiculous quality?
c. Consider the image of the men shouting at the ball as it hung on the wind above
them. What parallels can be drawn between the action of the men and religious
practice here?
5. Stanza Four
a. What in stanza 4 changes the tone of the poem?
b. Comment briefly on the connotations of each of these words from stanza 4:
- Fiery
- Heaven
- Darkening
- To awe
- Glare light
- Mads oils
- Three
- Glooms
- Steel press
6. Stanza Five
a. Which words from stanza 5 reinforce the smallness and insignificance of the men?.
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b. The word washed has baptismal connotations. The men are literally washed by the rain
but what is Hughes implying about their beliefs or existence through this allusion?
7. Stanza 6.
a. The subordinating conjunction while describes simultaneous action and the world
founders, sinks and blues under the weight of Atlantic depression at the same time as the
men shout and puddle glitter, washed and happy. What is the effect of this contrast?
b. Do you believe the men are naively ignorant of the darkening world around them or do
they choose to rebel against the gloom with their happiness?
8. Stanza 7 and 8.
a. Which actions in this stanza are described in a super-human or gravity-defying terms?
b. Comment on the alternating tone and content of each stanza - how does the structure of the
poem contribute to the overall meaning?
c. Comment on the effect of the phrase once again in the last stanza
d. The last oxymoron a golden holocaust is troubling. Holocaust derives from Middle English:
from Old French holocauste, via late Latin from Greek holokauston, from holos whole +
kaustos burnt (from kaiein burn) and has obvious associations with The Holocaust (mass
genocide of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis). What is one connotation of this oxymoron?
e. The men are being watch(ed) as the poem ends. What do you think is implied by this?
Think about the spiritual or religious connotations of this line.
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Wind
1. Title
a. What is the effect of naming the poem with a single elemental noun? Why not call it
The Wind, or The House in the Wind?
2. Stanza One
a. The opening line establishes a nautical metaphor that extends throughout the
stanza. List the words with nautical connotations. What atmosphere do these
create?
b. What connotations does the word stampeding have? What qualities does this
figurative language give the wind?
c. Locate the caesura in this stanza and explain the train of thought that it interrupts.
What is the effect of this interruption?
3. Stanza Two
a. This stanza is linked to the previous one with enjambement. Read the last line of the
stanza one and the first of stanza two without breaking. How does this create a
sense of passing time?
b. This stanza flows chronologically from the first. How has the setting changed? List
words that describe the new setting and explain how this affects the atmosphere.
c. List the words that have violent, warlike connotations. What mood do these create?
d. Identify the caesura in this stanza (there is a lot of it) and explain its effect on the
ideas and images being linked and separated.
4. Stanza Three
a. How has Hughes suggested that more time has passed without any abatement (let-
up) of the wind?
b. What metaphors does Hughes employ to demonstrate the winds strength here?
c. What tone does this stanza create?
5. Stanza Four
a. In this stanza, Hughes further illustrates the callous disregard the wind has for the
landscape and the creatures living in it. He does this through a series of listed
anecdotal descriptions. List these. What does this suggest about our relationship
with the elements?
6. Stanza Five
a. Again, the first line of the stanza only makes sense when read in the context of the
enjambement connection with the previous stanza. What does Hughes compare the
house to? What might happen to this metaphorical object? What does this suggest
about the permanence of man-made creation?
b. Midway through the stanza Hughes shifts focus to the people in the house. What is
the effect of using the collective pronouns here?
c. What language feature is we grip our hearts? What does it suggest? What mood
does it create?
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7. Stanza Six
a. The final stanza of any poem is crucial for leaving the reader with a lasting
impression. What is the subject matter of this stanza? What mood does it leave you
with?
b. List the senses that Hughes appeals to in this stanza and provide quotations.
c. Is the tension of the poem resolved or unresolved by the end? How does Hughes
build a sense of foreboding in this stanza?
d. Some critics have argued that this poem is a metaphor for Hughes tumultuous
relationship with his wife, Sylvia Plath. What evidence is there to suggest this? To
what extent are you convinced by this interpretation?

Read Julia Routledges interpretation of the poem:

http://juliaroutledge.blogspot.co.nz/2013/01/wind-by-ted-hughes.html
What does she mean by Wind being a formidable poem?
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Bayonet Charge
1. Title
a. What is a bayonet?
b. With what war is this associated with? Considering this is written much later than
this war, why do you think Hughes may have used this image?
2. Stanza One
a. The poem begins in the middle of things, often called In Medias Res - what is the
effect of this, especially the adverb Suddenly
b. This may refer to shell-shock, what is it and how might this psychological affliction
be used here? Note the use of past tense
c. Why is raw repeated? What are the connotations of raw?
d. What is khaki symbolic of?
e. How is the soldiers discomfort and fear presented in the first two lines?
f. Stumbling gives an impression of struggle, why has Hughes used this do you think?
g. Is the rifle fire from the green hedge intense? How do you know?
h. In your own words explain the use of bullets smacking the belly out of the air?
i. The simile numb as a smashed arm uses brutal imagery. What is the significance?
j. Explain the last two lines of this stanza in your own words.
k. How does Hughes emphasise the pace of this scenario through the language and
style?
l. Why do you think there is a repeated h sound in this stanza?
3. Stanza Two
a. How does Hughes link the first line of the second stanza with the first line of the
first?
b. Note the change in the punctuation in this stanza in comparison with the first, why is
that do you think?
c. What is the cold clockwork? How does Hughes use alliteration to effect here?
d. Do you think this is a moment in the soldiers life, or is it a recount of a previous
event? Give evidence from stanza two to assist your answer.
e. What is the effect of the question mark?
f. What is he listening for? Why?
g. How does statuary show the soldiers change? How does this contrast the actions
of stanza one?
h. What is the meaning of shot-slashed farrows?
4. Stanza Three
a. What impression has the poet given of the hare?
b. Threshing suggests pain and fear, but it also links to the imagery of farming and
harvesting. Where else is there reference to this?
c. What does the verb plunged convey about the soldier?
d. King, honour, human dignity, etcetera. How does the addition of etcetera affect
the significance of the other aspects listed? How has reality neutralised idealism?
e. Does this line link to propaganda?
f. Why were these luxuries left by the soldier?
 17

g. There are images relating to colour in this stanza, what are they and why might they
be used?
h. What image does Hughes leave the reader with in the final fine?
i. How does Hughes explore the experiences of war through this soldier?
j. To what extent does the soldier feel they have lost their way?
5. Whole Poem
a. There is no reference to the actual war that Hughes means in this poem. Why do you
think that is? What is the universal appeal to this poem?
b. Hughes style is shown here through the references to body and mind. How does
Hughes show this going-over-the-top image?
c. To what extent does this show a transition from a living reasonable person to a
weapon of war?
d. An analysis of the poem suggests that the use of long and short lines shows the
quick and show progress of the soldier. Do you agree? Why?
e. Look at the definition of form and structure below. How does Hughes use these two
elements in this poem?
i. Form relates to the external shape of a text, determined by how it is
presented on paper, organised by stanzas/paragraphs, lines, syllables,
rhyme, justification best thought of as a silhouette. It is a simpler thing to
comment on because it is usually visible.
ii. Structure is more interesting because it goes beyond the visible it is a
matter of the internal development and relationship between parts:
structure is about the internal skeleton and organs best thought of as an X
ray or CT scan, displaying the organic relationship between ideas, feelings
and attitudes within a text. For example, the form of a sonnet is its 14 line
length, its 8 line/6 line division and its rhyme scheme. Within that form the
structure may be 8 lines of description leading to 6 lines of reflection,
generalisation, resolution; or the mood may go from neutral to sombre, or
from sombre and resentful to acceptant.
f. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)
 18

Six Young Men

1. Title
a. This is a poem about war. The title is fairly straight forward. What is the significance
of the adjective young considering the content and context?
2. Stanza One
a. What technique is Hughes using with the celluloid holds them well. What is the
effect of this?
b. What words indicate that the photograph was taken a long time ago?
c. Explain in your own words the line have not wrinkled the faces or the hands.
d. How does Hughes explore the personalities of each of the men?
e. How might the last line be seen as shocking to the reader? How does it contrast
what has preceded it?
f. One is repeated in this stanza, what is the effect?
g. Why do you think Hughes has chosen not to include a rhyme scheme for this poem?
h. What is the speakers perspective in this first stanza, why might that be significant?
i. Analysts connect the remembrance day poem ode to remembrance to this stanza.
Why do you think that is? Where is the connection?
3. Stanza Two
a. What is a jaunt?
b. What effect does the caesura have on the fluency of the poem at this stage of the
narrative?
c. There is a strong change of focus in this stanza, why do you think that may be?
d. Like one in the first stanza, that is used repeatedly here. Why?
e. Why do you think Hughes is focused on the surroundings in this stanza? What has
changed, what has stayed the same?
f. There is more use of rhyme in this stanza, outline where this is occurring and why
Hughes may have done this.
g. Faces in the final line is a synecdoche for the soldiers / young men. Why would he
focus just on the face?
h. Why would Hughes use the second person pronoun you in this stanza? What
impact is he trying to achieve?
4. Stanza Three
a. This stanza has an echo effect from the first stanza, what is it?
b. What has changed from stanza one and two?
c. Describe in your own words how one or two of the soldiers died.
d. This verse ends with the clause all were killed how does this have an effect on the
reader?
e. What does potting at tin-cans in no mans land mean?
f. What was their hope from the final line?
g. How does Hughes ultimately immortalise these soldiers in this stanza?
5. Stanza Four
a. What is the meaning of six celluloid smiles?
b. Do the men still seem to be alive? How is this possible?
c. What does mightier-than-a-man dead bulk mean?
 19

d. Why has Hughes used the comparative mightier?

e. How has Hughes clearly shown the difference between life and death in this stanza?
f. (in his Sunday best) is in parenthesis. Why would Hughes do that?
g. How are the six mens sensory experiences shown here?
6. Stanza Five
a. How does Hughes use the traditional war poetry view of including the audience?
Why would he do this?
b. You seems to be reminiscent of an elegy addressed to the deceased and also an
attack of those who controlled the war. How is this?
c. Almost all of the senses are used in this stanza, identify them.
d. Why does Hughes use prehistoric or fabulous beast?
e. What is the smoking-blood referring to?
f. Explain Hughes line to regard this photograph might well dement, / such
contradictory permanent horrors here smile from the single exposure.
g. What is the speakers fear for himself at the end of this poem?
h. How does this relate to the idea of impermanence?
7. Whole Poem
a. These young men are seen a fixed in time, how does Hughes achieve this, other than
the photograph idea?
b. How is change and impermanence shown in this poem?
c. How do we know that Hughes / the speaker knows this place well?
d. How does this photograph show condemnation towards war?
e. Why is smile used as a motif in this poem?
f. How does Hughes play with the idea of exposure here? (Think about a camera and
experiences)
g. A lament is an expression of grief or sorrow. How is this an example of a lament?
h. The six men in question are often thought to be friends of Hughes father. How does
this impact the reading of the poem?
i. How does Hughes break the fourth wall of literature? How are the audience now
an active participant?
j. How does Hughes retrospectively observe the attitudes of both pre and post war?
k. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)
 20

Crow Hill
1. Title
a. There is a physical location of Crow Hill in Huddersfield in North Yorkshire in
England. However, with Ted Hughes there is always a dual meaning of things. What
do you think the significance of the crow and the hill are in this title? Consider his
love for animals and nature.
2. Stanza 1
a. The first two lines evoke a sense of an uninviting landscape. Explain in your own
words the impression that Hughes is creating about this environment.
b. What connotation are associated with oozing?
c. Consider the presentation of the weather in this stanza. How does pathetic fallacy
become apparent here?
d. How is the weather seen as invasive or pervasive?
e. What elements of domestic life are shown here?
f. Explain the final two lines in your own words.
g. What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza? What do you notice about lines 1 and 3?
3. Stanza 2
a. How does the first line show human fragility?
b. In what ways does hughes suggest the idea of impermanence in this stanza?
c. Why are pigs feet delicate?
d. What makes the cows bony?
e. How might the phrase hold off the sky present the animals and humanity in the
face of the weather elements. How might this show a will to survive / live?
f. The final line shows the force of the various elements, how?
g. How might it be seen that the elements and humanity draw strength from the
elements?
4. Stanza 3
a. What is the subject of this stanza? From whose perspective is this presented?
b. How is the idea of human arrogance presented? What does hubris mean? How
might it connect to this poem?
c. Where is an example of alliteration and for what effect?
d. How might this be seen as resisting death or succumbing to the elements?
e. How is the strength of the wind shown in this stanza?
f. What do you think the fox and the hawk are representative of?
5. Overall
a. How does the rhyme scheme connect with the ideas of the poem?
b. How is Hughes presenting creation and deconstruction in this poem?
c. Hughes once wrote about the war between vitality and death - does this poem
demonstrate this?
d. Can this be seen as a surrealist perspective?
 21

e. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)

Esthers Tomcat
1. Title
a. What is a Tomcat?
b. What evidence is there for who Esther may be? Explain the various interpretations
based upon this evidence.
2. Stanza One
a. In the first two lines, how is the tomcat described?
b. What is the significance of the simile?
c. How is enjambment used here for effect?
d. What do you notice about the rhyme scheme? Is there a significance to this?
e. What does continual wars and wives allude to?
f. Note the use of consonance in battered and tattered, what associations are there
with these two words?
3. Stanza Two
a. This stanza opens with a simile, in your own words explain this simile.
b. What is the significance of colour in this stanza?
c. Look at the use of caesura, explain why this is used
d. Explain the final simile in line 4.
4. Stanza Three
a. This verse refers to an old folklore, why does Hughes reference this story?
b. How is the tomcat presented in this story?
5. Stanza Four
a. What does grallochs mean?
b. Explain the idiom on the quiet
c. How does Hughes create this alternate world of the tomcat, and for what purpose?
6. Stanza Five
a. How does this first fragmented sentence create a tone?
b. Repetition is used in this stanza, where and why is it used?
c. Explain your interpretation of owlish moons of bekittenings
7. Stanza Six
a. Why does Hughes use enjambment across the two stanzas here?
b. How does the tomcat walks upon sleep?
c. Explain the final stanza in your own words
8. Whole Poem
a. What is the rhyme scheme, and why is this significant for this content?
b. What do you think Hughes purpose is in this poem?
c. Based upon the way you interpret the poem, what does the title mean?
d. Do you think there is a deeper message in this poem? If so, what is it?
 22

e. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)

Hawk Roosting
Hughes: What I had in mind was that in this hawk Nature is thinking. Simply Nature. Its no so
simple because maybe Nature is no longer so simple.

1. Title
a. A hawk is a bird of prey - what does this mean?
b. Consider the verb roosting. What do you associate with a bird roosting?
2. Stanza One
a. This poem is in first person, what effect does this have on the readers perspective?
b. Why is the hawk in the top rather than on the top?
c. How is the hawks personality first established in the opening stanza? What tone
does the poem have from the outset? How might the hawk be seen as arrogant?
d. What does the phrase no falsifying dream refer to?
e. Consider the harsh consonant k sound of the hooked which is repeated. Why
might this be?
f. Why might it be important that the hawks eyes are closed?
g. In the third line there is a personification, what is it and why might it be used?
h. The hawk is supposed to be an impersonal killing machine, and yet seems to have an
opinion of what perfection in killing would be - as he rehearse[s] it, what does this
say about his motivations?
3. Stanza Two
a. How does this stanza present a sense of self-importance?
b. Give examples of Hughes using elevated and sophisticated diction in this stanza.
c. How is the language being used to accentuate the hawks intelligence as well as
being physically superior?
d. How is the earth personified and for what purpose?
e. Give your own explanation (in your own words) for the final line.
4. Stanza Three
a. Why do you think Creation is captialised? Why is it repeated?
b. There are three references to the hawks feet on this stanza, explain the
significance of each one.
c. What is the hawk actually holding in its claws at this point? How might this be both
literal and figurative?
d. What is the significance anatomically and evolutionarily of the hawks feet?
e. How is the hawk presenting itself as a summation of all that there is? Is the hawk
superior even to God?
f. Do you think in this instance that the hawks victims understand that it has no
purpose other than to kill them?
 23

5. Stanza Four
a. What does sophistry mean in this context? Do you think the hawk reasons with
himself about his duty to kill?
b. Is this a poem about the responses to physical stimuli, or is there more to this?
c. The language becomes intentionally harsh with tearing off their heads, why do you
think this brutal imagery is used? Why is this contrasted with the polite connotations
of manners?
d. Is the hawk conscious of his own brutality do you think?
6. Stanza Five
a. What is the allotment of death?
b. How is the mantra - others must die so that I might live important to this animal?
c. Again Hughes uses brutal imagery of the hawk piercing the body of its prey, what
purpose does this have? How does this affect the tone?
d. How is the hawks philosophy explained in this stanza?
7. Stanza Six
a. Does the hawks arrogance seem to have any boundary?
b. What is the positioning of the hawk in front of the sun significant of?
c. How is the hawk at the height of creation?
8. Whole Poem
a. In what ways is the hawk a sign of vitality?
b. This monologue uses largely plain and forceful language to emphasise the hawks
power. How might this be viewed as a metaphor for man?
c. This poem is one of Hughes early animal centric poems which is believed to imply
the nature of man and to spark thought about just how much of mans behaviour is
instinctive, as opposed to how much of man is ruled by his diving, or God-like side.
What are your thoughts?
d. The narrating hawk seems to explore instinctual actions which seem repugnant to
creatures of conscience, why do you think Hughes chose such vivid and brutal
imagery?
e. Do you think this poem glorifies violence?
f. How has Hughes used poetic elements (rhyme, rhythm, enjambment, causura etc.)
to assist in the presentation of this animal?
g. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes similar to
the one below to respond to the language and style of the poem. The first has been
done for you.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL3vCYSR-Y0
 24

View of a Pig
1. Title
a. Consider the viewpoint given from the title. From what position is the narrator?
2. Stanza One
a. Note the sentence construction of this stanza, what do you notice about the way
these have been crafted?
b. The final word in line 1 is dead. What impact does this word have?
c. How does this have an observational aspect to it? What is the effect of this simple
language and explanation? Why is its weight so important?
d. How is the pink white eyelashes almost paradoxical in this description?
e. Is there any rhyme or rhythm to this stanza? Why might this be?
f. Who is the they referred to?
3. Stanza Two
a. How does the harsh k alliterative aspect have an impact on the tone of this stanza?
b. Identify a figurative language aspect and explain the reference.
c. What is the significance of the sack of wheat at the end of the stanza?
d. In lines one and two of this stanza there is the use of enjambment, for what purpose
is this used?
e. Why is there such a lack of connection between the first two stanzas?
4. Stanza Three
a. Why does the narrator thump the pig? What does this action have connotations
of?
b. Why isnt the pig able to accuse?
c. What does the walking on graves refer to?
d. This pig is a commodity, how do you know this?
5. Stanza Four
a. How can something be too dead? What effect does this adverb have?
b. What is lard and pork?
c. Do you think the pig had any dignity at all? Explain
d. Why is it not a figure of fun? What does this infer?
6. Stanza Five
a. Too dead is repeated, for what effect?
b. The pigs life is deemed worthless. Explain how this is shown in the stanza.
7. Stanza Six
a. Again Too dead is repeated but transferred to the adverb deadly for what effect?
b. Why is the poet exasperated as shown in the exclamation in line 3?
c. Why does weight oppress the narrator?
d. The line line seems to evoke a sense of sympathy as it is not pathetic. What do you
think this means in your own words?
8. Stanza Seven
a. There is a tone change here to a recollection. What effect does this have on the
overall impression?
 25

b. How can the poet show such a contrast to a joyous fair in which he chases a
squealing pig?
c. How does the piglet represent life?
d. How does this stanza add to the agricultural / rural feel of the poem?
e. How does this lively and energetic memory seem to be at odds with the lump of
meat described earlier in the poem?
f. What does rendering mean?
9. Stanza Eight
a. Hughes uses a very immature reference in the simile like ovens why does he use
this?
b. There are a number of pastoral references in this stanza from the horses bite
through to the cinders. What impression is given of the pig from this stanza alone?
c. How do you think pigs are viewed by the community based on the poem thus far?
d. The last line seems to portray the pig as brutish, why?
10. Stanza Nine
a. How has the pig in front of the narrator presented as lacking that vitality of the
piglet?
b. What does it mean to scald the pig?
c. Explain, in your own words, the meaning of the final sentence.
d. How is the pig objectified?
11. Whole Poem
a. Note the use of largely monosyllabic words. Why do you think this is?
b. The endings of words are often consonants. What effect does this have?
c. Based on the overuse of Anglo-Saxon language, what is suggested about the
narrator (in the first two stanzas only one word - just - is of French, rather than
Anglo-Saxon origin). How does this narrator add weight to the topic of a dead farm
animal?
d. How does the poet feel about the dead pig? What specific words and phrases lead
you to this decision?
e. Choose 8 words or phrases from the poem and use a chart in your notes to respond
to the language and style of the poem.
i. Your analysis must include at least one technique from the following
headings; form, structure, genre, conventions (taken from CIE key concepts)