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Pike and Hunting Snake Comparison

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In the poems “The Hunting Snake” by Judith Wright and “Pike” by Ted Hughes a strong relationship between man and nature is explored and expressed. Judith Wright was an Australian poet, environmentalist and Aboriginal land rights campaigner. Ted Hughes was an English poet and children’s book writer. Themes discussed in his poems were mostly nature having being fascinated with them from an early age. He wrote frequently of the mixture of beauty and violence in the natural world. Both poets explore the appreciation that humans have for animals therefore creating a strong connection between the two. There is however a strong disconnection that is brought on by the fear and lack of understanding of the animal world that humans have. These…show more content…
It is an “epiphany” moment for them as they have just witnessed something rare that they think of life differently. Flee meaning run away from a place or situation of danger expresses the. This could relate to “scarcely thought”. In this situation the characters could think that they are going to be the victims or the prey of the snake, or that they don’t want to think of the horrible torture that the prey will endure. Either way it shows that they fear the snake and its hunter instinct. The word “froze” is also used to show the fear and stillness the characters have. Freezing being a result of extreme cold – the snake is later referred to as “cold”. Cold could also mean evil, wicked, etc. Originally the poet of “Pike” shows an admiration for the pike and its murderous personality as seen in the 4th stanza. During the 7th stanza we see that the poet begins to record experiences through anecdotes. In particular, this fear is shown in these last 5 stanzas. We see the strength of the cannibalistic nature and from that strength, the unease that comes with it. For example, “one jammed past its gills down the others gullet” and “iron” – both from stanza 7. We see here the brutal attack on one another. Iron is used to show the stubbornness and power that they have as iron is a strong and fixed material. We see fear in the last 3 stanzas through the story of the fisherman. The character describes the pike as “immense” – meaning extremely large and
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