Pike Summary

The Pike - Ted Hughes

Summary: The poem is based on his childhood. This poem is amazing in the sense that the implication of the poem is both physical and allegorical. The pond could represent the conscious mind of Hughes himself. The deeper area could represent the subconscious, which is where the true monsters live, as Hughes often said.

The poem follows the pattern of many of Hughes’ work. It is usually marked by practical knowledge and precise description of the creature described, such as their bodies and how they move, as well as their behaviour.

Significant poetic devices and their significance (eg: Metaphors, symbols, rhyme scheme, form, imagery, repetition… etc)

·         Every sentence starts with a capital letter, even though there are sometimes no form of punctuation to dictate it so. This can be used as a way to stroke the ego of the pike in the perspective of the poet they are perfect.

Word-based analysis

Stanza 1

“Pike, three inches long, perfect

He is using a baby pike as the first imagery of the poem represents the fact that they are already beautiful and innocent from birth.

Pike in all parts, green tigering the gold: “tigering” makes a reference to its ferocity and dominance that we see in the tiger, implying that he sees it in the pike as well. Gold implies royalty, putting the pike in a rather majestic and elegant light.

Killer from the egg: the malevolent aged grin.
The poet here is exemplifying the fact that the pike is already structured to become the perfect killer since birth portraying the Pike as the ultimate king of the sea in terms of dominance, commanding respect. Sarcastic evil big smile.

They dance on the surface among the flies.”
The main diet of the Pike at birth is the flies. Therefore the use of the word dance is a metaphor used to describe the hunt. “dance” implies the fact that the hunting is so easy to them due to their ingrained thinking and specialised body structure.

                                                                                                

Stanza 2

“Or move, stunned by their own grandeur
Creates an air of arrogance around the Pike, as if it knows that it is something to be respected. Use of the word grandeur once again relates the Pike to royalty or a higher-class noblemen, commanding even more respect.

Over a bed of emerald, silhouette
Emerald is considered very rare and valuable and the fact that the emerald is found on the seabed of the pond represents the fact that the Pike guards over it, as if the Pike was the king. Emeralds = wealth or treasury. Once again colour implies elegancy and royalty.

Of submarine delicacy and horror.
Note the juxtaposition in the two words “delicacy” and “horror” as well as the metaphor when we describe the pike as a submarine. It is delicate and beautiful at times (perhaps at birth), yet horrifying and terrifying when hunting. The pike gets to enjoy the best of both worlds, making the pike look privileged.

A hundred feet long in their world.”
This could be a metaphor for their dominance, they are huge in arrogance and their aura can be sensed (and feared) for as much as a hundred feet, accentuating once again the arrogance of the Pike.

Stanza 3

“In ponds, under the heat-struck lily pads-
In this point of view, the pike swims below the heat-struck lily pads. This can refer once again to royalty as we find the lily pads sacrificing itself and taking in the heat, just so that the Pike can be cool directly below it.

Gloom of their stillness; 
This is similar to the works of Hunting Snake by Judith Wright, who implies that the snake (and in this case, the pike as well) are both creatures of mystery, and that we tend to think of them as something different than they truly are – creatures of beauty. Furthermore the fact that Hughes also does the same gives the pike a calm and collected attitude; as if everything that is happening in the pond is planned by the Pike and that everything planned is going smoothly.

Logged on last year’s black leaves, watching upwards
This can exemplify the fact that the pike even holds arrogant dominance over the areas that it can’t reach (ie above the surface of the water). The black leaves could refer to the lily pads which have died, sacrificing themselves for the sake of the pike. 

Or hung in an amber cavern of weeds”
Once again there is this concept of plants sacrificing themselves to provide shelter or anything that the Pike might request. In this case, as already said before, shelter while showing a mysterious, calm and collected attitude.

Stanza 4

“The jaws’ hooked clamp and fangs
Structure once again being perfect for hunting.

Not to be changed at this date;
Nothing more needs to be improved since birth, it was already born perfect.

A life subdued to its instrument;
The poet implies that perhaps the Pike is perfectly built for killing, and thus has to live up to its expectations. That all its life it is honing (=perfeccionando) its skills in hunting.¿ It is here that is life is subdued (weakened): It is here that the poet is implying that the Pike may not be doing what he would like to be and may reflect on him instead.

This is similar to the poem found in the anthology The Cockroach when the poet finds that the animal that he describing, the cockroach, completely reflect the actions of his life.

The gills kneading quietly, and the pectorals”
This gives us a view of the mechanical makings of the Pike. Perhaps the poet is exaggerating these features to give us a sense of its raw power as well as its efficiency and consistency due to the use of the verb and adverb kneading quietly.

Stanza 5

“Three we kept behind glass,
Jungled in weed: three inches, four,
And four and a half: fed fry to them
Suddenly there were two, finally one”

Is the experience that the poet had of keeping such creatures as pets. Also note how they suddenly disappeared. The other two were killed off by the strongest one. It expresses their arrogance as they try to remain on top and the best and the most dominant. “Finally one” this two-word sentence shocks the reader, the writer’s intention is to cause an impact in the reader that is why it is too short.

The poet, who “feeds fry to them” (fry= small fish) and kept them “behind glass” “Jungled in weed”, mystery once again.

Stanza 6 and 7
“With a sag belly and a grin it was born with.
And indeed they spare nobody.
Two, six pounds each, over two feet long,
High and dry and dead in the willow-herb -
One jammed past its gills down the other’s gullet:
The outside eye stared: as a vice locks - 
The same iron in this eye
Though its film shrank in death”

Is one of the poet’s experience when he went to the lake with his father to go fishing one day. One pike swam into the mouth of another one, where both of them suffocated and died. This could represent the dangers of arrogance, contrary to what the poet was implying as he mentioned arrogance a countless number of times and painted it as positive.

The phrase “vice locks- the same iron in this eye” indicates a sense of masculinity as we see tools mentioned and of all tools, locks which represent strength as well, indicating the poet feels like the two pikes died in the most masculine way possible, thus deserving some respect.

“vice locks” = adds ferocity, adds purpose or intention of not letting go until the prey has been terminated.

Stanza 8 and 9

“A pond I fished, fifty years across,
Whose lilies and muscular tench
Had outlased every visible stone
Of the monastery that planted them - 
Stilled legendary depth: 
It was as deep as England. It held
Pike too immense to stir, so immense and old 
That past nightfall I dared not cast”

These two stanzas represent the bittersweet memories that the poet had in connection with this pond, and how he has lived with it and saw it changed throughout the ages.
The use of the word “monastery” was specially used by the poet so as to create the pond as having a sacred touch to it, as if it was the haven for pikes. It also creates an innocent image to the pond, as well as the poet when he visited that area regularly as a child. 
The hyperbole “as deep as England” makes reference to the history of the pond compared with the rich history of England. It also sounds juvenile, indicating that the poet has been at the same pond since he was a young boy.

STANZA 8-9: Reminicence of the author´s past when he seems to become emotional about fishing and the solitiude by the pond.

Stanza 10 and 11

“But silently cast fished 
With the hair frozen on my head
For what might move, for what eye might move. 
The still splashes on the dark pond,
Owls hushing the floating woods
Frail on my ear against the dream”

 the poet decides to go on one night fish in the pond. “That past nightfall I dared not cast”.conveys that Things start to become surreal.The oxymoron in the phrase “still splashes” adds to this very surreal image as in no can a splash be still as they completely contradict each other. “Owls hushing the floating woods” This piece of imagery is used to describe the darkness and the tree branches that branch out into the night sky that seem to be floating. 

I infer from  “For what might move, for what eye might move.”, he is scared of creatures of the forest attacking him, However, what he fears even more is the “eyes that might move” – the things that are already watching him, preparing to strike.

“Darkness beneath night’s darkness had freed,
That rose slowly towards me, watching.”

The first darkness is a metaphor for the Pike, justifying the fact that:

3.       It is the thing that you should be more scared of due to the pike’s potency at night.“Darkness beneath night’s darkness had been freed”. This gives the image of the pike finally being free, indicating that it will be more ferocious and animalistic than it normally is as whatever restriction that was in place before is now freed.

4.       The pike then rose slowly towards him, watching, foreshadowing the fact that he is about to be attacked. The poem ends here, leaving us wondering what that dramatic moment might be, in turn creating tension at the end of the story. Genius.

Speaker of the poem: The poet himself, Ted Hughes. In his mature self although metaphorically in his childhood self as well.

Speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the poem:  Nostalgic towards his childhood and the pond. A profound respect, almost obsession, with the pike due to its power and its impact on his childhood days.

Paired poems (Identify poems in the anthology and why they are appropriate to be paired)

1.       Hunting Snake in the sense that both writers share a profound respect for the animal that they are describing.

2.       The Woodspurge due to both poets having a wider meaning towards their feature of choice and that what they are actually describing could be completely allegorical, representing something else.

3.       Horses in the sense of the time shift throughout the text, although Horses is chronological. They also share an equal amount of respect for the animal that they are describing and also tend to point out the physical strength found in the animal.

Memorable Lines:

1.       “They dance on the surface among the flies”

2.       “Over a bed of emerald, silhouette of submarine delicacy and horror”

3.       “A pond I fished, fifty years across”

4.       “It was as deep as England”