Hughes makes it prominent throughout the poem that the pike is a merciless,callous ,solitary beast, who uses violence for its survival, irrespective of who its against including its own kind.This is evident in the lines "suddenly there were two . Finally one. "As Hughes shares his personal anecdote of keeping the pike in a aquarium, he brings forth the mysterious, inexplicable, solitariness of the beast, as opposed to other species of fishes they feel no sense of belonging among them whatsoever. It is this in addition to their strong ferocious will to survive that drives them to the extent of assassinating each other without feeling ,guilt or remorse whatsoever. The readers through the lines are made to reluctantly recognise violence as a necessity for all types of living beings,such as animals and humans as well, to survive against all odds as they come across the example of the malicious pike who destroys all obstacles in its path to gain what it wants. The cold dark truth slowly dawns upon the readers,creating an eerie and chilling atmosphere
Hughes suggests that hidden under the darkest pits of our souls, even we humans have the killer instincts of the pike. This is in his second anecdote, when he says ‘darkness beneath…freed’. Hughes points out the fact that the darkness of the pike, has, from underneath his own darkness, freed his instincts and made him realize how important those are. He place a special emphasis on the importance of this lesson by highlighting the fact that even the wise owls were ‘hushing’ the surroundings so he could learn it. Personally, I think he means to say that every creature has these instincts and it is not wrong to follow them. Even the most magnificent creatures can be deadly beyond belief, and only the fittest survive. In this way Hughes points out that violence is a prominent element in the natural world.
The Pike is very violent, and it’s ‘instruments’ help it survive in its natural world. These ‘instruments’ are provided to Pike for a very specific purpose, which is survival. These ‘instruments’ are nothing but just its body parts. We can see this in line ‘The jaws...pectorals’. The ‘clamp’ is an instrument which the Pike uses to capture its prey and make sure it does not free itself, while the ‘fangs’ are used to pierce the body of the prey and kill it for later consumption, the ‘gills kneading quietly’ also show us that the Pike is a very quiet and creepy predator which stalks it prey and the prey does not realise it’s being stalked because of the quite gills, and when time comes the Pike strikes. I believe that the Pike’s body parts are its ‘instruments’ because that is how it has adapted to its natural and violent world.
Somewhere or the other, there is an animal that resides deep within one self and this is what Ted Hughes expresses through the poem pike. By comparing such an monstrous and ruthless creature to 'England' we can see similarities in the behaviour of these 'legendary' locals; just like the pike who openly showcases its personality, which is hidden in the 'depths' of the people. Moreover by this comparison we see the layers of evil hidden in the 'darkness' which arises in specific situations that have been locked under whatever 'darkness' is present above.
The extent of evil being omnipresent in the murky waters is depicted as a melancholic hyperbole of pain, courage, respect and death. As depicted the Pike watched with the "same iron in its eye" its opponent beating it to the pit, merciless as can be seen by the fishes' determination that to end a duel the surroundings must turn a painful shade of roseat. A gladiator by birth, given its "green tigering the gold" coat, the carnivorous predator seems to accomplish deeds more than what meets the eyes, "a hundred feet long in their world".
Hughes presents his fear alongside admiration with vivid descriptions of Pike. He describes their 'instruments' of attack, 'fangs', 'jaws' as a threat to the marine world, also as a tool if survival, moreover hinting the readers about their life subdued' to the preservance of their existence. Readers are notified about their sentinel like character. The exquisiteness of the creatures is given height with descriptions such as 'emerald', portraying to readers a glamorous view of this extravagant habitant of the sea. Hence with such a deep insights into the characteristics and the behaviour, Hughes beautifully hints to readers a unique creation, mixtures of odds and evens within one being.
Hughes creates a chilling atmosphere through his anecdote, by adding another pike to the same tank where he kept his first catch(pike). The pike's are not used to the artificial environment as they do not have much aquatic life to feed on . Thus 'one jammed passed its gills' down the 'other's gullet'. This shows that the Pike has no inhibitions in killing its own kid for its own survival. In my opinion, Hughes terrifies the readers and shows the cannibalistic disposition of the Pike. The eloquent and articulate description's 'vice locks' with their iron strength , inspires the readers to never give up. All the more, the iron is a symbol of strength.
Hughes makes it prominent throughout the poem that the pike is a merciless,callous ,solitary beast, who uses violence for its survival, irrespective of who its against including its own kind.This is evident in the lines "suddenly there were two . Finally one. "As Hughes shares his personal anecdote of keeping the pike in a aquarium, he brings forth the mysterious, inexplicable, solitariness of the beast, as opposed to other species of fishes they feel no sense of belonging among them whatsoever. It is this in addition to their strong ferocious will to survive that drives them to the extent of assassinating each other without feeling ,guilt or remorse whatsoever. The readers through the lines are made to reluctantly recognise violence as a necessity for all types of living beings,such as animals and humans as well, to survive against all odds as they come across the example of the malicious pike who destroys all obstacles in its path to gain what it wants. The cold dark truth slowly dawns upon the readers,creating an eerie and chilling atmosphere
ReplyDeleteHughes suggests that hidden under the darkest pits of our souls, even we humans have the killer instincts of the pike. This is in his second anecdote, when he says ‘darkness beneath…freed’. Hughes points out the fact that the darkness of the pike, has, from underneath his own darkness, freed his instincts and made him realize how important those are. He place a special emphasis on the importance of this lesson by highlighting the fact that even the wise owls were ‘hushing’ the surroundings so he could learn it. Personally, I think he means to say that every creature has these instincts and it is not wrong to follow them. Even the most magnificent creatures can be deadly beyond belief, and only the fittest survive. In this way Hughes points out that violence is a prominent element in the natural world.
ReplyDeleteThe Pike is very violent, and it’s ‘instruments’ help it survive in its natural world. These ‘instruments’ are provided to Pike for a very specific purpose, which is survival. These ‘instruments’ are nothing but just its body parts. We can see this in line ‘The jaws...pectorals’. The ‘clamp’ is an instrument which the Pike uses to capture its prey and make sure it does not free itself, while the ‘fangs’ are used to pierce the body of the prey and kill it for later consumption, the ‘gills kneading quietly’ also show us that the Pike is a very quiet and creepy predator which stalks it prey and the prey does not realise it’s being stalked because of the quite gills, and when time comes the Pike strikes. I believe that the Pike’s body parts are its ‘instruments’ because that is how it has adapted to its natural and violent world.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere or the other, there is an animal that resides deep within one self and this is what Ted Hughes expresses through the poem pike. By comparing such an monstrous and ruthless creature to 'England' we can see similarities in the behaviour of these 'legendary' locals; just like the pike who openly showcases its personality, which is hidden in the 'depths' of the people. Moreover by this comparison we see the layers of evil hidden in the 'darkness' which arises in specific situations that have been locked under whatever 'darkness' is present above.
ReplyDeleteThe extent of evil being omnipresent in the murky waters is depicted as a melancholic hyperbole of pain, courage, respect and death. As depicted the Pike watched with the "same iron in its eye" its opponent beating it to the pit, merciless as can be seen by the fishes' determination that to end a duel the surroundings must turn a painful shade of roseat. A gladiator by birth, given its "green tigering the gold" coat, the carnivorous predator seems to accomplish deeds more than what meets the eyes, "a hundred feet long in their world".
ReplyDelete* replace coat with armour
DeleteHughes presents his fear alongside admiration with vivid descriptions of Pike. He describes their 'instruments' of attack, 'fangs', 'jaws' as a threat to the marine world, also as a tool if survival, moreover hinting the readers about their life subdued' to the preservance of their existence. Readers are notified about their sentinel like character. The exquisiteness of the creatures is given height with descriptions such as 'emerald', portraying to readers a glamorous view of this extravagant habitant of the sea. Hence with such a deep insights into the characteristics and the behaviour, Hughes beautifully hints to readers a unique creation, mixtures of odds and evens within one being.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHughes creates a chilling atmosphere through his anecdote, by adding another pike to the same tank where he kept his first catch(pike). The pike's are not used to the artificial environment as they do not have much aquatic life to feed on . Thus 'one jammed passed its gills' down the 'other's gullet'. This shows that the Pike has no inhibitions in killing its own kid for its own survival. In my opinion, Hughes terrifies the readers and shows the cannibalistic disposition of the Pike. The eloquent and articulate description's 'vice locks' with their iron strength , inspires the readers to never give up. All the more, the iron is a symbol of strength.
ReplyDelete*its own kind for its own survival
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