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Hughes' "Thistles"
Ted Hughes uses violent imagery to describe the life cycle of a common weed in "Thistles." His diction and selection of anthropocentric phrases like "blue-black pressure" also suggests that the poem serves as an extended metaphor on the violence underlying human civilization (line 3). References to Vikings and to the "sons" of elder thistles underscore the poet's drawing attention to the similarities between violence in nature and in human societies (lines 7; 11). Therefore, the imagery Hughes uses in "Thistles" addresses the central idea that violence serves a distinct and neutral purpose and is therefore inevitable in both nature and civilization.
Hughes conveys the inevitability of violence in part through bellicose analogies such as "splintered weapons" and "feud," (lines 6; 11). Splintered weapons convey visceral as well as visual imagery; something splintered is fragmented, shattered, and can harm like shrapnel. Like muskets, the thistles also "spike the summer air," in a violent display of their prowess and might. The "feud" the thistles engage in is for the survival of the species, as their "sons appear" to fight for their fathers. Moreover, Hughes employs phallic imagery to underscore the theme of war: the sons appear "Stiff with weapons," and not "with stiff weapons." Aurally, Hughes' imagery is enhanced through alliteration, like the "hoeing hands of men," and the repetition of the "s" consonant throughout the verses. Auditory imagery adds to the overall impact of violence that pervades the poem. Yet "Thistles" conveys no moral meaning, no judgment against the plant or human warriors.
Imagery in Hughes' "Thistles" therefore serves a number of key functions. First, imagery conveys the multi-sensory impact of war and violence. Because it can be felt viscerally, viewed, and heard, violence is pervasive in nature. Second, violence is a neutral force and is integral to nature's endless cycle of death and birth. Whether with weeds or whole civilizations, violence and war are inevitable.
Works Cited
Hughes, Ted. "Thistles." Retrieved Aug 2, 2006 at http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/417.html
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