Literature in English project
FULL MOON AND LITTLE FRIEDA
BY TED HUGHES
BACKGROUND
 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.
THE THEME(S)
(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.

STRUCTURE
 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.
TONE AND MOOD
 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.
“A COOL SMALL EVENING SHRUNK TO A
DOG BARK AND THE CLANK OF A BUCKETAND YOU LISTENING”
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”,

“A SPIDER'S WEB, TENSE FOR THE DEW'S
TOUCH.
A PAIL LIFTED, STILL AND BRIMMING MIRROR
TO TEMPT A FIRST STAR TO A TREMOR.”
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.

“COWS ARE GOING HOME IN THE LANE
THERE, LOOPING THE HEDGES WITH THEIR
WARM
WREATHS OF BREATH A DARK RIVER OF BLOOD, MANY
BOULDERS,”
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.

BALANCING UNSPILLED MILK.
'MOON!' YOU CRY SUDDENLY, 'MOON!
MOON!‘
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 HAS STEPPED BACK LIKE AN
ARTIST GAZING AMAZED AT A WORK
THAT POINTS AT HIM AMAZED.”
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

ANALYSIS

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.