Analysis of Symbolism in Ted Hughes' Poetry

Ted Hughes is a poet laureate lived from 1984 to 1998. He was a British poet, well renowned in his time and referred as the poet of 20th century. He also won a lot of awards for his extraordinary works i.e. The Whitbread Book of the Year two years running, for Tales from Ovid in 1997 and Birthday Letters in 1998, and was awarded an OBE in 1977, and the Order of Merit in 1998. He was extremely concentrated, symbolic writer well known for his direct, authoritative and depiction of ideas with animal symbolism. His work was highly influenced from his hometown, family, lifestyle, mythology and a lot more.

The things that are not to be taken literally are then stated using a technique in literature i.e. symbolism. The things that have in depth meaning in them can be used as symbolism. Symbolism is often used by writers to give a deeper insight to readers and also to make their writing fancy. Symbolism has the ability to give writing a rich look and meaning to the writing.

There are certain levels of symbolism which are incorporated in writing. First is literal which is the sentence meaning according to dictionary. Then is the symbolic meaning which is far meaningful in a holistic way. Symbolism is a creative way of putting words in writing and therefore gives a reader a lead to find interest in writer’s words and mind equally and see what the writer really wants to convey. The writer who uses symbolism is basically depicting a broader perspective of meaning related to the things he is talking about.

There are many writers in the contemporary poetry and one of them is Ted Hughes has a huge name in the genre. He is also known as animal poet because he talks a lot about animals in his poetry but the important point to discuss is that he uses animals as an imagery in order to talk about humans. Use of animals in his poems is a spiritual way of him writing poems. Ted uses an exceptionally extraordinary way to write his poems and almost all of them have symbolism. In his poems he uses animals to reveal humans emotions such as anger, sorrow, grief, betrayal etc. Image, myth and symbol are the ways through which his themes are explored. He has a great command over imagery. There are countless imageries in his poems and some of them have a particular meaning in all his works while the other changes from time to time. Ted Hughes uses animal images mostly in perspective of animal hunting in poems and prose and there is a repetitive order in the use of the images.

The first poem in this poetry analysis is titled ‘Thought-Fox’, which is one of the best examples of symbol.

“I imagine the midnight moments’ forest:

Something else is alive

Beside the clock’s loneliness”

The Thought-Fox describes in an understated and indistinct way of how the poem is written. What poets pit in writing is always an inspiration as they well thought and well stated ideas. From so many things in mind only what’s written on the paper is something most important. The fox exactly discusses the thoughts going on in poet’s mind. The fox here acts as a symbolism. Ted is greatly influenced by mythology and therefore it derives him to use it in his poetry. He uses those mythical symbols and stories for his own purpose and this likeness if him doesn’t stop him from using modern day symbolism. In half of the poem the poet gives references of the fox which is a symbol used for his thoughts going on in the mind quietly appearing. In other words, instinct takes over intellect.

Another key motif in The Thought-Fox is darkness. As fox is depicted as the deep thoughts of the poet’s mind who has the capability to distinguish and record the thoughts as mind wants to, darkness on the other hand refers to the poet being lost in his thoughts and desperately wants to get rid of them but there is no inspiration. Also, darkness is also in contrast with the idea of light of creativity and productivity. The poem depicts how fox is struggling in the darkness which gives the deeper meaning of staying consistent and losing oneself to darkness as greatest ideas are developed when the mind is empty and darkened with not lots of ideas but the less of them. The line, 'Something more near / Though deeper within darkness / Is entering the loneliness,' tells that fox is playing as an isolated animal.

Hughes is renowned for his nature based poetry and usage of animal symbolism. In both “The Jaguar” and “Hawk Roosting”, the animals symbolizes different human characteristics while remaining on the surface, and in depth. “The Jaguar” is written on a literal level about a trip to the zoo. The point of view is third person, seemingly from the eyes of a visitor at the zoo. However, on a deeper level, the poem is a statement on man’s modern state of existence, where the cages at the zoo are like our compartmentalized lives and the trapped animals are representing humankind. The Jaguar is introduced as an animal whose “stride is wildernesses of freedom.” He is the anomaly, the rebel, the revolutionary. “There’s no cage to him”: this statement is ironic because the jaguar, similar to all the other animals, is in a zoo cage. However, he has not let the bars trap him and dim down his true magnificence. His“eye satisfied to be blind in fire” because what he sees is beyond, is greater than anything that can be presented to him in the cage. His world is inside his head; and no matter how many physical constraints are put on him, he can not be caged. The jaguar is a symbol of rebellion: signifying all those individuals in society who do not conform to the invisible iron cage put around them. He signifies all the artists and poets and thinkers possibly even being a symbol for the poet himself. Even though the jaguar and other animals are in the same depressing situation, they’ve reacted in very different ways; and only the jaguar has managed to survive the imprisonment and not let the lack of physical freedom constrain his mind and his vision.

Similar to the character of the jaguar, in “Hawk Roosting”, the hawk has been portrayed as completely free, individualistic and powerful. However, the difference is that just as the jaguar was seen to positively make use of his mental freedom, using it to protect his dignity from degradation by those around him, the hawk shows the readers the negative side of this complete lack of regard for anyone else and/or social constraints. The Hawk embodies the characteristics of arrogance and pride. This poem, through the symbolic dramatic monologue of the hawk, gives us an insight into the mindset of a human driven by vanity to the point of a state of insanity, tyranny, aggression and evil. It is an animal poem, and yet comments on the violence, brutality and self-centeredness of humankind. Such as the hawk proudly claims “My manners are tearing off heads” and describes his flight path “through the bones of the living”, it can be a reference towards war and genocide where individuals are reduced to “heads” and “bones” as dehumanization is a requirement to be able to commit such large-scale atrocities.

The cow seems a strange animal to pick as a motif, but it is a symbol presented throughout many of Hughes' poems, becoming a motif in itself. In 'The Harvest Moon,' it speaks of, 'all the moonlit cows,' and in 'Full Moon and Little Frieda,' the reader sees the, 'cows are going home in the lane there,' and actually feels their breath as they pass the hedgerows. This would indicate an association of the cow with normality, with a tranquility of night, and with a reflection on the comfort and steady nature of the moon. “Full Moon and Little Frieda” also contains two main symbolic animal imageries. One of them is dog and second one is cow. Animals do not serve only the purpose of symbolism but also naturally adores the poem. In order to understand animal imagery in Hughes’s poems, a good intelligence is always required because it always symbolically explains something. A cow is an everyday animal, mundane and irrelevant in the lives of most, as they pass by fields full of them However, this is symbolic in Hughes' poems, giving a universal or generic outlook in these particular poems. It is normal life being described, not fantasy of mythical proportions, but reality. In 'Pied Beauty' the 'skies are of couple-colour as a brinded cow,' which presents the wonders of the sky in parallel with the mundane image of a cow. This actually puts the cow in a different lens, making it appear more beautiful then before, being intricately designed and painted. Therefore, as seen from this poem analysis, the symbol of the cow also highlights the great beauty and special aspects of nature that God has presented on earth.

Thus, as seen fom this poetry analysis essay, Ted Hughes’ symbols and images are spontaneously drawn from a wide variety of sources; yet the subtlety of his sole purport of self-analysis and self expiation through suffering unites them all. There is an inevitability about his obsessive squaring up to the problem of modern man’s self-alienation from nature and the consequent spiritual torpor.