Full_Moon_and_Little_Frieda_Analysis

FULL MOON AND LITTLE FRIEDA TED HUGHES A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket -  And you listening.  A spider's web, tense for the dew's touch.  A pail lifted, still and brimming - mirror  To tempt a first star to a tremor.  Cows are going home in the lane there, looping the hedges with their warm  wreaths of breath -  A dark river of blood, many boulders,  Balancing unspilled milk.  'Moon!' you cry suddenly, 'Moon! Moon!'  The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work  That points at him amazed. BACKGROUND Frieda was the daughter of poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. She was about two when this poem was written. ANALYSIS To understand what Hughes is trying to communicate through the poem, we must consider that the poem is written to express his feelings to his daughter Frieda. Much of it is also expressing her point of view. Hughes begins his poem telling us that “a cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket”. Being merely two years of age when this poem was written, Frieda’s mind couldn’t absorb much. Her ‘small’ mind is only able to take in minute details, and hence for her, the only two things that she was able to enthrall, was what her evening ‘shrunk’ to. The poet uses extremely specific aural imagery like the ‘dog’s bark’ and the ‘clank of a bucket’, aiding him to freeze this moment in the poem. He then says, “And you listening”. He makes direct communication with a reader. When one realizes he is being addressed, he becomes alert – which is what any writer or poet desires. The poet compares Frieda’s mind to a “spider web” and the dew’s touch may be an implied symbolism for life’s experiences and its beauty. He portrays Frieda as if she is eager to know more. Through the metaphor, Hughes brings out the receptiveness and fragility of her mind. He then loads us with another image of a “pail lifted”. A pail is used to accumulate something. One notices the poet continuing his comparison with Frieda’s innocent mind. Now generally one lifts the pail when it is full. As she has already taken in all she can, Frieda’s mind is filled and “brimming” and hence reflecting any information that comes in, just like a “mirror”. Hughes then tells us that the cows are “looping the hedges with their warm wreaths of breath”. Wreaths are generally put on coffins once someone dies, thus creating an extreme contrast with the general joyous tone of the poem when he brings death into the picture. Besides the tone, the poet also contrasts the minds of Frieda and himself. How hers is innocent since she lives in her own bubble and is indifferent to death and other such things; as opposed to Hughes, who is at the same time mourning the loss of his wife. Amongst a barrage of imagery, Hughes adds the sound of Frieda crying out, “Moon! Moon!” He highlights the innocence of her mind and her fascination for nature using a well-placed repetition. Subsequently, he goes on to call the moon an artist. One tends to draw a connection between a creator and a creation, which in this case happens to be nature and humanity, respectively. When an artist paints a picture, one can connect with him without actually knowing him or meeting him just by looking at it. This is because the picture speaks a lot about the entity or person who created it. Similarly, Hughes speaks of how humanity reflects the existence of nature and our everlasting interdependence on one another. This is evidenced when the poet tells us, “The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work that points at him amazed.” Nature is staring in awe at its greatest creation, and mankind, represented by Frieda, reciprocates this admiration. Through the poem, Hughes draws in a relationship between the celestial and earthly worlds. This can be perceived when he talks about the ‘pail’ and the ‘stars’. There is also some sort of internal rhyme in the poem, which adds in a rhythm, demonstrating on how well the gel together.