Ted Hughes: Grade 9 Full Mark Essay Example
In this post, you will find a full mark example essay that delves into Hughes’ poetic brilliance. Whether you're a student aiming for academic success or simply a literature enthusiast seeking inspiration, this essay will provide valuable insights into analysing Hughes’ poetry at the highest level.
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THE QUESTION
‘Hughes’s poems about the natural world show a sensitive, detailed observation.’ In the light of this comment, discuss the effects Hughes creates in his presentation of the natural world. Refer to two poems in your answer.
THE ESSAY
Hughes often draws inspiration from direct, precise observation of nature, such as in ‘The Horses’ and ‘Roe-Deer’, where the speakers are lone figures placed into direct contact with the natural world. However, for Hughes, nature is not simply a fascinating world that is there for humans to study; he has a personal, spiritual connection with it because, in his opinion, it demonstrates the wider forces of the universe itself.
In ‘The Horses’, Hughes’ speaker experiences a beautiful moment when he encounters the silhouettes of horses, standing on a ridge in half-darkness at the break of dawn. A stark atmosphere is created through the ‘world cast in frost’ and ‘iron light’ with ‘blackening dregs of brightening grey’; Hughes uses pathetic fallacy to set an cold, wintry and menacing mood for the poem. However, the tone shifts with a volta in the centre of the poem: “And I saw the horses: //Huge in the dense grey –ten together –”. The stanza break creates a moment of suspense, mirroring the shock and awe of the speaker at this moment as he describes this encounter. The adjective ‘Huge’ implies that the encounter with the horses is more powerful than the cold, grey blackness of the winter morning - it shocks the speaker out of his state of numbness. This allows for light and warmth to enter the scene - the ‘sun / Orange, red, red erupted’ - these new colours symbolise the energy and importance of the encounter, and the way in which it was a turning point in the speaker’s own life, as it was such an unforgettable moment which he remembered in precise, yet also abstract, detail.
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