Literature in English project

 Ted Hughes and his wife Sylvia Plath left the US and settled down in a small flat in London. It was here that their daughter Frieda, to whom this poem is addressed.  Both the parents observed the physical and mental growth of their child closely this resulted in a release of creativity and a series of poems.  In the autumn of 1961 they moved to a larger house in a village in Devon. It was here that most probably this poem was written.

 (main)The fragility of a child’s mind  Reconciliation between humans and nature  The themes deal with Nature, power, time, space and the way each can mirror the other.

 There is no rhythm or rhyme in Full Moon and Little Frieda.  Full Moon and Little Frieda has an apparently random structure.  The irregular structure also links to this - it reflects the disorder of a child's mind.

 The overall mood is very relaxed and calm. some points in the poem one feels a bit sad.  The tone is respectful and even a little somber at first.  The mood and tone slightly changes to become more urgent, more potent.

 indicates the serenity and calmness of a child’s mind.  “small” and “shrunk” imply that the evening is being simplified much like a child’s mind.  Hughes while referring to his daughter tries to put the reader into the setting, “And you listening”,

 The atmosphere becomes slightly creepy and tension starts to build up.  The image of “a spider’s web”, depict how fragile a child’s mind is and how easily it can be influenced  “Tense” creates an impression that something is about to happen.  “still and brimming” pail of water also signifies calmness and stillness.  This also depicts a child’s fragile mind as the slightest of disturbance can have far reaching ripples.

 The image “a dark river of blood” is used metaphorically to depict the movement of the herd of brown cows.  The image of cows and a full moon also reminds one of the nursery rhyme ‘the cow jumped over the moon’.  The image of “Cows are going home” depicts movements and indicates the presence of life.  Conversely the image of “a dark river of blood” implies death and tragedy.  This could refer to the suicide committed by Hughes’ wife.

 The image of “balancing unspilled milk” depicts the climax of the poem  The overall tranquility and calm of the poem is brought to an end when Frieda utters her first words, “Moon!”, ”Moon ! Moon!”, as her eyes beheld a full moon for the first time.  Frieda’s cry implies that the new generation is more aware of the importance of nature.

 The moon is personified as an “artist gazing”.  The moon also connotes Hughes himself who is quiet “amazed” when he hears his daughter call out his name for the first time.  The moon responds to Frieda’s cry by “gazing amazed” hence shows the mutual acknowledgement of nature and humans

 Full Moon and Little Frieda offer insights into Hughes' opinions about nature and family relationships, specifically the relationship between parent and child and humans and nature. The poem offers a snapshot into something which is continuous - Hughes' skill lies in making us believe that the lives exist before and after the glimpse that he captures.