The Portrayed Moon

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The poem ‘Full moon & little Frieda’ was written by Ted Hughes. In this particular poem, the moon is portrayed as being "like an artist,” this is because the full moon gives a beauty to the peaceful setting (of the countryside). So, the moon therefore becomes the creator of this beauty, just as an artist creates a beauty through his poem. Also, a tranquil, calm, still and even a magical evening is created throughout the whole poem. With the reference to another poem with a similar theme (of the moon), we can look at the poem written by Adrienne Rich, ‘Amends,’ a beautiful imagery is portrayed of the moon and it is also personified throughout the whole poem. This poem has a sensuous, calm, relaxed and a contemplative tone, as in the 1st line there is a pause caused by a colon and a gap, ‘Nights like this: on the cold apple-bough…’ Also the use of punctuation creates a smooth flow in the first 3 stanzas, as commas create a pause when reading the lines of the poem. In ‘Full moon & little Frieda,’ it seemed that the poet (Ted Hughes) believed that poetry and magic was one and the same thing, because according to me it is truly an amazing sleight of hand, of a magical trick that the poet plays here. Up until this moment, all life has centred on the scene about them: the dog barking, the clank of the bucket, the tension in the water and the web, the plodding of the cows, the wreaths of mist above their heads, and of course the movement and excited voice of the poet's young daughter. Then, all of a sudden, this change, as the poet encapsulates all of these scenes into a picture. On the other hand, the moon (which is usually viewed as motionless in the sky), becomes the centre of life, it seems that it’s alive. After that, it then becomes the artist, ‘The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work. That points at him amazed.’ Little Frieda is

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