Experience Through Language

Experience through Language. Different stories, plays, poems and films, told in different ways and at different times, can all provide insights into our contemporary society. This is the power through language and also one of Ted Hughes’s two main themes along with “the war between vitality and death”. Many of Ted Hughes’s poems show this “war” and “elements of shock and violence and aggressive imagery”. This is experience through language. Good morning year 11 and Miss Marsh. Today I’m going to talk to you about two of Ted Hughes’s poems “View of a Pig” and “Hawk Roosting.”

Wild creatures are one of the main subject choices in Ted Hughes’s poems. These wild creatures are “active, defiant, and untamed”. They “cannot be conquered by artificial society created by man”.

"View of a Pig" is about learning to think through problems and inconveniences to end up finding acceptance. The poem runs through all the frustrating steps of a new problem and yet finds sympathy and acceptance at the end.

With some thought the once frustrating encounter with the pig leads to sympathy when remembering the being once had earthly pleasure. First of all the poem starts off in a rather frustrating manner.

There is an encounter with a large lifeless pig laying on top of a barrow. First contact with the pig causes the person to “Thump it without feeling remorse.” The thumping however did no good as “It was like a sack of wheat.” After some physical abuse the pig turns out to be not like a pig at all. The pig felt too dead to be mad at as it was like “A poundage of lard and pork.” The blame for where the pig lay was formally upon the pig but it “Did not seem able to accuse.” Through all the frustrating events, and attempts to accuse the pig, sympathy for the pig starts to appear. Instead of the anger, the poem changes to being more sympathetic towards the pig. The frustrating resting place of the pig does not matter as much when thinking “Of earthly pleasure it had been.” When looking at the closed eyes with white eyelashes, and its feet sticking straight out, its life “Seemed a false effort, and off the point.” It became hard to believe that all of the pigs