The Theme of Nature in The Thought-Fox and Roe-Deer
Various poems by Ted Hughes explore the world of nature and describe
the power and mystery of animals. Two particular poems that convey Ted
Hughes' theme of nature are the celebrated 'The Thought-Fox' and 'Roe
Deer'.
When Ted Hughes was only a young boy, he had a love for animals as "he
spent a good deal of time hunting and trapping". At the age of about
fifteen, Hughes' "attitude towards animals changed." He "accused"
himself "of disturbing their lives." And ever since then, he began to
look at them "from their own point of view."
This led to him beginning writing about animals in his poetry shortly
after he began writing poetry.
Hughes realized from an early time, well before he wrote his first
animal poem that the hunting that he did so much was similar to his
thought process, "the slightly mesmerized and quite involuntary
concentration with which you make out the stirrings of a new poem in
your mind, then the outline, the mass and colour and clean final form
of it, the unique living reality of it in the midst of general
lifelessness." And then the poem created from that thought process was
"a new species of creature, a new specimen of life outside your own".
This was his way of equating a poem.
'The Thought-Fox itself is very similar to Hughes' idea of creating
all poems. The poet personifies his thoughts by using a fox.
The poem is an analogy as well as a metaphor. The thought process and
progression to writing is compared to a fox alone in the wilderness
creeping up on you out of the darkness into the light.
The coldness, the snow doesn't move i.e. it is ...
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completely with a blanket of snow.
The deer run into the fields 'Towards tree dark' which could mean that
they disappear into the woods and also the dark. They seem to
disappear completely leaving no signs behind. All evidence of the deer
is taken away, 'The snow took them and soon their nearby hoofprints as
well'
The alliteration used in 'boil of big flakes' gives a sense of the
enormity of snow.
When Hughes loses sight of the deer, everything turns 'Back to the
ordinary.' He feels inspired to return to his own world having had an
incredible encounter.
Both poems use the theme of nature to show us how powerful the natural
world can be whether you're experiencing it (in Roe-Deer) or imagining
it (in The Thought-Fox). The surroundings can be compared to things
that humans do in their everyday lives.
The first theory to explain some of Ted's behavior is that of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs which focuses on describing the stages of growth in humans using the terms physiological, safety, belongingness, self esteem, self actualization and self transcendence. Ted had the necessities of life and shelter, and was therefore satisfied in his physiologi...
by his mother. While in college, Ted found the love of his life. They later broke up and
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life; and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived”.Here in this essay, it is divided into two parts exploring the two various extracts from Emerson and Thoreau. Both these textsexchange individual views on the relationship between Man and Naturebut I would like to focus more on the similarities than the differences of this relationship.
He also held a part-time job and earned excellent grades. Ted just dated once during high school and was described as shy. It was around this time that Ted began sneaking out of the house and peeping into the windows. He became a "Peeping Tom." He occasionally disabled a woman's car to make her more vulnerable, without actually doing anything to her(Time Life). He found these behaviors sexually arousing and masturbated while doing them.
Important aspects of naturalism are the ideas that people are essentially animals responding to their basic urges without rational thought, and the insignificance of man to others and nature. In The Jungle, Sinclair portrays Jurgis as a man slowly changing into animal as well as a man whose actions are irrelevant to the rest of the corrupt capitalist world of Chicago in order to show the reader the naturalist ideas of the struggles between man and society.
Patrick Rosal’s poem, “BEAST,” is a unique poem that diverges from the archetypal model of poetry. Perhaps, to an untrained eye, it may seem like a poorly written poem, however, it is actually quite eloquently crafted. There are several elements that give it a deeper meaning that might be difficult to understand upon the first couple readings. The more the poem is read, the more obvious the elements become. Rosal’s consistency with his diction throughout the story, the first portion of the poem acting as a juxtaposition to the second, and connections with the poem, “How to Fall in Love With Your Father,” are combined perfectly to form this excellent piece of work.
The connection between Romanticism and nature was said by Marjorie McAtee, to have strengthened with the idealism of folk cultures and customs. Many romantic artists, writers, and philosophers believed in the natural world as a source of strong emotions and philosophies. The artists and philosophers of the romantic period also accentuated the magnificence and loveliness of nature and the power of the natural world (McAtee, Marjorie, and W. Everett. WiseGeek. Conjecture, 03 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.) . Mary Shelly and many other writers like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were romantic writers who were apprehensive toward nature, human feelings, compassion for mankind, and rebellious against society. Romanticism, which originated in the 18th century, is something that emphasized motivation as well as imagination (Adjective Clause). In Frankenstein, Shelley cautions that the initiation of science and natural rational searching is not only ineffectual, but unsafe. In endeavoring to discover the mysteries of life, Frankenstein assumes that he ...
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the use of animal and nature imagery develops the theme that nature is always present and needed for the survival of humans, just as knowledge is a necessity to thrive as a society. Without knowledge, society cannot learn and develop.
as his understanding and affection with the world of nature established, Thoreau became one of its earliest champions. Watching Concord stripped of its forests for farming and fuel-wood and seeing the village expands into the countryside, Thoreau looked to the future and raised new possibilities. "Each town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of 500 or a thousand acres, where a stick should never be cut for fuel, a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation," he wrote. He wants to make the best out of everything bad that was going on.
“Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, is a very noteworthy story of a young man, Christopher McCandless, who tragically ventures alone into the wilderness. It should be pointed out that the story is quite original and the main character is full of contradictions. At any rate, it is quite difficult to understand his real motives that influenced his decision to abandon the civilized world and head for the wilderness where he turned to be unable to survive. This is why it is very important to define the major factors that forced the main character to take the fatal decision.
The Puritan Plain Style is a type of writing in which uncomplicated sentences and ordinary words are used to make simple, direct statements. This style was favored by the Puritans who wanted to express themselves clearly, in accordance with their religious beliefs. Puritans who settled North America had very specific views on nature, the land, and the country. Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner look at nature in a very sensitive way, but on the other hand they both go against nature and its forces. Each writer is unique in their own way, both write about the forces of nature and the natural world. Examples are “The Bear” by William Faulkner and “Big Two Hearted River” by Ernest Hemingway in which both write about the challenges of nature and feelings. Both Hemingway and Faulkner look at nature in very sensitive ways, but on the other hand they both go against nature and its forces in their own ways.
Theodore Bundy was born on November 24th 1946. He was born to an unwed mother who was told that she was his sister. He was raised by his grandparents who portrayed themselves as his parents throughout his early childhood years. According to the article I read Ted’s grandfather was abusive towards Ted and his other siblings (Montaldo). Ted was shy and said to be sociably awkward, but during high school he developed into good looking guy and was liked by many.
Nature in which people of the entire universe mostly depend upon is found as the true source of happiness in their own life. This great spectacle of the nature is what most of the people appreciate a lot. However the development taking place all over the world does not seems that people are now appreciating the creation of the mighty God. To live happily we the people have to be associated with nature as both Emerson and Thoreau believes in order to live a happy life people must learn to live in harmony with nature without destroying the nature. Both Emerson and Thoreau tends to have similar ideas upon the nature. Emerson states that the first important influences upon the mind of human is nature because nature has no beginning and has no ending but it is like a circular power that keep on returning again and again to the same place where as Thoreau believes that the harmony which the people get from the nature is far greater and the law of nature is to give happiness to the people. However the contrast appears when both Thoreau and Emerson have different ideas upon the manipulation of human mind by the nature.
The excerpt from Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden takes us through Thoreau’s extended mystical experience as he attempts to discover how to live with the guidance and observance of Nature. In this excerpt he cherishes Nature and its elements. Thoreau’s primary motive behind moving to the woods near Walden Pond is to understand what it is to live. To him Nature sort of sets out a path to the comprehension of life. On this “path” created by Nature, one is taught to be simple so that there will be minimal complication present. He also paints Nature as a gentle entity, saying that it is both innocent and beneficial. Thoreau depicts Nature as not only a guide to learning how to live but also an active example of what living should be like.
The Romantics had a unique connection and view of nature. In many ways nature was like a religion to them. They worshiped and cherished nature and its beauty. The contemporary view of nature is largely based on what can be proved by science. People now believe what can be verified by scientists as the truth, but there are a few exceptions to that. Some people now want to protect nature like the romantics wanted to all those years ago. Romantics looked to find the answers to their questions in nature.