“Full Moon and Little Frieda”
by Ted Hughes
Background information: Ted Hughes (1930-1998), was one of the best poets and children’s writers of his generation. He was married to American poet Sylvia Plath from 1956-1962. They separated in 1962 and in1963, at the age of 30, Plath committed suicide. Together, they had two children, Frieda and Nicholas. When Hughes wrote the poem “Full Moon and Little Frieda”, Frieda was about two, before the couple separated. Hughes often wrote about the mixture of beauty and violence in nature.
Getting into the poem
Mood, Tone
Before you understand every word of the poem, read it quietly two or three times and write down what you picture while you read. What sort of atmosphere do you imagine? For each feeling or idea you write, find a word or phrase from the poem to support it.
Part I: Understanding meaning.
Vocabulary: match the following words from the poem with their definitions
Word / Meaningshrunk / bucket (seau)
dew / shake, tremble
pail / a curving or circular formation
brimming / past tense of the verb to shrink
tremor / to look at with great curiosity or wonder
wreath / big rocks
boulders / water on the plants in the morning
to gaze / full to the brim, to the top
Can you guess the meaning of the word “clank” from the context?
Comprehension Questions:
1. What time of day do the events in the poem take place? Explain your answer.
2. Who is “you” in the poem?
3. Reread lines 5-6: "A pail lifted, still and brimming -- mirror
To tempt a first star to a tremor."
-What do you think is in the pail? Justify.
4. Reread lines 7-10:
“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.”
a) Why does the poet speak of their “warm wreaths of breath”?
b) What could the “dark river of blood” be?
c) What might the “many boulders” be?
d) Who or what is “balancing unspilled milk”? What is the meaning of this phrase?
Part II: Interpretation
5) a) How do you interpret the line “A cool small evening”? What does this mean?
b) “…shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket”. What could this mean?
6) “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.”
a) What words does the poet use to show the tension of the moment?
b) How do you interpret the line “a pail lifted, still and brimming-mirror/To tempt a first star to a tremor”?
c) Comment on the use of alliteration and sibilance here.
7) "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.”
Comment on the purpose of the alliteration in these lines.
8) “The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed
at a work
That points at him amazed.”
a) Why does the poet describe the moon as being “like an artist”?
b) How do you interpret these last lines? What literary devices are used here? What purpose do they serve?
9) This poem has metaphysical aspects to it. Here is the definition of the word to help you think about the following question.
metaphysical:
1)concerned with existence, causality or truth.
2) abstract
3) imaginary
There are two references to heavenly bodies in the poem. Can you find them?
What does this show us about Hughes’ vision of and feelings for the little girl?
10) What has Hughes communicated of his feelings for Frieda throughout the poem on this magical evening? What, in your opinion, is special about the poem?
Part III: Literary devices, sounds, patterns
a) Sensory images: “Full Moon and Little Frieda” mainly appeals to two of our senses. Which are these?
b) Imagery: Make a list of the different literary devices used in the poem by picking out quotes and writing what technique is used. This will help you to review it later.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
c) Sounds: pick out quotes which show Hughes’use of alliteration, assonance, consonance or sibilance in the poem.
d) Read the poem aloud several times and think about where you would pause and why, and what the tone of your voice would sound like.
Homework: Extended response
Answer the following question as a mini text analysis. Don’t forget to use PQC. Write about half a page.
* Ted Hughes believed that poetry and magic were one and the same thing. How is this shown in “Full Moon and Little Frieda”?