Pike

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

Based on Hughes’ childhood. Tends to have obsession with big and fierce creatures and often written poems including the The Jaguar

Question 2

Themes

Answer 2

Predatory

Grandeur

Question 3

Image of the Pike (stanza 1)

Answer 3

Hughes’ view

• “perfect” -> created by nature with no errors
• “green tigering gold” -> relates to the tiger that we find on land (one of the most powerful creature) -> similar to pike but in water or make a reference to its ferocity and dominance that we see in the tiger
• “killers from the eggs: the malevolent aged grin” -> natural instinct is to kill, links with “perfect” -> perfect design to satisfy purpose: to kill -> the ultimate king of the sea in terms of dominance, sacred. “aged” = experience
• “dance among the flies”. at birth, main diet = flies -> dance = hunt -> hunting is so easy to them due to their ingrained thinking and specialised body structure, form of entertainment and relaxation

Question 4

Image of Pike (stanza 2)

Answer 4

The animals in the same lake’s view

• “submarine” - metaphor -> hides from enemy and attack -> unseen, quiet and dangerous
• “delicacy and horror” = juxtaposition -> delicate at birth, horrifying when hunting -> poet shows both respect and fear. although contrasts, support each other
• “stunned by their own grandeur” -> arrogance as if it knows that it is something to be respected.
• “a hundred feet long in their world” => small to us (“3 inches long”) but big to other animals. size reference to power

Question 5

Image of Pike (stanza 4,5 and 6)

Answer 5

• “not to be changed at this date” -> evolved to perfection (links back to “perfect”
• “the gills kneading quietly”. gills = breathing = life, quiet links back to submarine -> everything it does, it lives to serve its purpose: to kill
• “jungled”, a noun but -> an adjective -> imply pike is always active. wilderness => compliments nature of the fish
• “finally one” -> minor sentence which creates suspense and shock upon reader. the survivor of the fittest, strongest fish eats all, merciless, cannot be tamed, emphasize the short life of its prey -> function = kill
• “sag belly” -> full, had a good meal
• “grin” -> satisfaction and pleasure

Question 6

Image of Pike (stanze 9,10 and 11)

Answer 6

• “as deep as England”. eng has a long history -> pike is experienced -> links back to “malevolent aged grin” and the idea of pike being evolved to its perfection”
• “that rose slowly towards me watching”. it was supposed to be the poet who watches the pike because he was fishing but in reverse -> poet is the prey, being watched by the pike