Wind - Ted Hughes Flashcards
1
Q
Themes? (2)
A
humanity vs nature, the
tumultuous nature of relationships.
2
Q
Tones? (2)
A
Apprehensive, Optimistic
3
Q
Context? (3)
A
In 1956, Hughes met and married
the American poet Sylvia Plath.
Though their marriage became
notoriously troubled (and allegedly
violent on Hughes’s part), they had a
high regard for each other’s work.
4
Q
Meaning and purpose? (3)
A
- Wind” is a poem about the sheer
force of nature. - As a storm wreaks havoc on the
countryside, the speaker observes the wind’s indifferent brutality toward both the natural and human worlds. - - The poem portrays nature’s power as both terrible and awe-inspiring, and also shows that despite their inventiveness, human beings are still subject to its merciless whims.
5
Q
Language? ()
A
- Metaphor immediately sets expresses the idea of ferocious weather and an isolated house.
‘We grip our hearts’ – people in house
scared ‘The Hills had new places’ it seems to the narrator that the wind’s power is so great, it has caused the land to move - Personification ‘crashing
woods…booming hills…stampeding
wind…skyline a grimace’ - Similes ‘gull bent like an iron bar’
Wind has the power to reshape
animals and move the hills - Onomatopoeia:‘booming…blade…tremble…drummed…flap…shatter’
- Imagery: house at sea…orange sky…tent of the hills…wind flung a magpie away…
- Powerful/dangerous action verbs that capture the power of the Wind
- Alliteration: ‘wind wielded’ -
6
Q
Form? (2)
A
- Most of the lines are end-stopped,
however, the enjambments are
frequent enough to have noticeable
effects on the poem. - Enjambment helps control the
poem’s pace. For instance, while the
first two lines are end-stopped, the
verse speeds up in lines 3-7 as
enjambment hurries the reader along
past the ends of lines.
7
Q
Structure? (1)
A
- Written in free verse: it doesn’t
follow any fixed pattern of meter or
rhyme.. The unpredictability of the
rhythm mirrors the temperamental
nature of the storm, which lulls and
rages with no warning.
