Poem: Wind - Ted Hughes

Page 1

Wind - Ted Hughes

Poem:

Revolves around nature

Realise on imagery and onomatopoeia

Man is introduced in the 3rd stanza shows that man vs nature may be negative

Trying to show its power through nature(the wind)

Imagery of sight and sound is used (all images of power to show power)

Man nothing when compared to nature

Title:

" Wind " - shows two sides (wind= destructive and breeze= calm)

- paradox showing the power and majesty of nature

- emphases on the insignificance of man in the presence of the natural world

Stanza 1:

v1: " This house has been far out at sea all night " - metaphor

- sea personifikates wind around the house (shows fear)

- vunrable and may be destroyed

- " This house " - specific

- support to give protect bit doesn't

- " all " - tormented through the whole night

- " night " - darkness (no guidance)

- we see man vs nature

v2: " The woods crashing through darkness, the blooming hills, " - " crashing " and " blooming " - onomatopoeia

- negative = fear

- " darkness " - It is repeated

- poet wants us to fear

- " hills " - Shows superiority

- Not superior than the wind and therefore have no power over the wind

- nature vs nature

v3: " Winds stampeding the fields under the window " - " stampeding " - onomatopoeia (negative)

- " window " - barrier

- man seeing it through window

v4: " Floundering black astride and blinding wet " - " floundering " - trying to save its life

- shows that they are suffering (from the wind)

Note: Shows where the house is (reality) = negative

Page 2

Stanza 2:

v5: " Till day rose; then under an orange sky " - " day rose " - nature tries to show us to not give up

- guidence = no fear

- " orange sky " - envelopes man

- safe with nature

- guidence

v6: " The hills had new places, and wind wielded " - shows the power of the wind

- " wielded " - control - controlled the light

- wind is showing it's self as God

- alliteration

v7: " Blade-light, luminous black and emerald, " - " Blade- light " - negative and positive

- may hurt and protect

- " black " - to remind you that light may turn to darkness

- man cannot trust the wind

- " emerald " - symbolises and emphises hope

- is precouse

v8: " Flexing like the lens of a mad eye. " - enjambment (to make it more story like = makes you continue reading)

- shows power and energy of wind

- simile

- " Flexing " - shows change

- " lens " - magnifise or makes things smaller

- change perspective

" mad " - fear = madness = can't protect

Note: Positive and don't trust what you see

Page 3

Stanza 3:

v9: " At noon I scaled along the house -side s far as " - " At noon " - light

- feels protected

- " scaled " - protect yourself

- man obeyed the wind

- shows that man is still scared

v10: " The coal-house door. Once I looked up- " - " coal-house " - for a necessity (needed to)

- " looked up " - giving wind superiority through fear

v11: " Through the brunt wind that dented the balls of my eyes " - " brunt " - strong and powerful

- " dented " - hurt him - shows that wind left his mark

v12: " The tent of the hills drummed and strained its guyrope, " - metaphor

- " tent " - ment to protect but is flimzy (unsafe/ not strong)

- wind has power over the hills (had power to move)

( easily manipulated by nature )

Note: We see the light and the darkness. Man is introduced in this stanza.

Page 4

Stanza 4:

v13: " The fields quivering, the skyline a grimace, " - personification - nature has battle with man

- " quivering " - scared - shaking out of fear

v14: " At any second to bang and vanish with a flap; " - onomatopoeia

- " bang " - happens instantly

- " vanish " - magically

- wind personifikates a magician

v15: " The wind flung a magpie away and a black- " - " flung " - shows fear and negativity

- wind shows it's power

- taking away it's freedom

- " magpie " - bird = free but wind is controlling it (white = positive)

v16: " Back gull bent like an iron bar slowly. The house " - " gull " - bird = free but wind is controlling it (black= negative)

- " bent " - killing it

- shows his power

- " slowly " - causes pain

- simile

- " The house " - both nature and man are being controlled by the wind

- hanging on (vunrable) = as last words of stanza

- man's freedom taken away

- alliteration of ' B '

Note: Wind is seen as sidistic.

Page 5

Stanza 5:

v17: " Rang like some fine green goblet in the note " - figure of speech of sound and sight

- simile

- " green goblet " - still hope for mankind

- easily destroyed just like the wind

- alliteration

v18: " That any second would shatter it. Now deep " - " shatter " - just by the sound

- can't be put back again (emphasises wind's power)

- " deep " - scared - don't feel protected

v19: " In chairs, in front of the great fire, we grip " - " fire " - warmth, light and guidance (dual faced as may also hurt them)

- " grip " - to help and protect

v20: " Our hearts and cannot entertain book, thought, " - " Our hearts " - emphasises fear

- " thought "- madness = fear of the wind

Page 6

Stanza 6:

v21: " Or each other. We watch the fire blazing, " - " We " - family = united

- " fire blazing " - better than watching the destruction outside

v22: " And feel the roots of the house move, but sit on, " - " roots " - foundation of house

- " sit on " - nothing else to do

- control of the wind

v23: " Seeing the window tremble to come in, " - personification = highlights fear

v24: " Hearing the stones cry out under the horizons. " - " stones " - strong

- " cry out " - need protection too

- " horizons " - new beganing

- stones want to live another day

- all of nature suffering by wind

- personifikation

Metric:

Consistancy of wind shows through structure

Form: Stanza: 6 (3 and 3 = shows negativity in the face of the wind)

Verses: 4

Rhythm not constant

Reflective (trying to change mans mind) and Narrative (teaches us how nature overpowers man)

no constant rhyme (irregular) (shows that nature cannot be controlled)