MODULE C: REPRESENTATIONS: CONFLICTING PERSPECTIVES (CP)

PRESCRIBED TEXT: TED HUGHES

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS:


THE SHOT:

QUOTE TECHNIQUE > ANALYSIS
The Shot Sustained metaphor: regarding the hustle on the relationship, the pain /
violence / destruction of the relationship, evokes sympathy > idea that H is
helpless
You worship needed a God Connotations of worship: highlights Ps excessive characteristics and
behaviours > her high expectations
Deified by your infatuation Hyperbole deified: turning ordinary man into God > males had to be
beyond human
Connotations of infatuation: an extreme obsession
God and god Capital letter: used as an allusion to the impact of Ps fathers death when
P was only 8: Your Daddy had been aiming you at God/ When his death
touched the trigger > hyperbolic image regarding Ps need for unrealistic,
unearthly expectations. Use of the word trigger = represents a catalyst for
her behaviour
Lowercase: reduces the idealisation of the god being discussed > idea
QUOTE TECHNIQUES > ANALYSIS
Where was it, in the strand? Rhetorical question: starts the poem with the notion of conflicting
perspectives within Hughes through unreliable nature of memory
Your face 2
nd
person: addressing Plath
Maybe I noticed you./ Maybe I
weighed you up, feeling unlikely
Repetition of maybe: reflects uncertainty and his patriarchal
worldview
Your Veronica Lake Bang. Not
what it hid./ It would appear
blond.
Allusion Veronica Lake Bang: member of pop culture during the
time, suggesting glamorous, gorgeous
Truncated sentence Not what it hid: alludes to Plaths scar >
symbol of attempted suicide > foreshadows her psychological
issues
Use of the word appear: negative connotations of masking true
identity and personality
And you grin. / Your exaggerated
American grin
Repetition grin: highlights Plaths deliberate hiding of her true self
> naive and vulnerable > represents Hughes as victim
Grin for the cameras, the judges,
the strangers, the frighteners
Listing: denotes another mask
Then I forgot. Yet I remember. Truncated sentences binary opposites: CP, again, within Hughes
memory
Was it them I brought a peach? Rhetorical Q and symbolism: peach as a symbol of temptation, like
the apple and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden > represents
something luscious, fresh, tempting
It was the first fresh peach I had
ever tasted
Alliteration: expresses notion of sensual, exotic, unusual, new
experience > represents Plath
I was dumbfounded afresh/ By my
ignorance of the simplest things.
Symbolism: highlights Plath as the peach, alluding to the notion of
masking, deception > acts as an ironic twist to the poem,
positioning readers to feel sympathy for Hughes > idea that Plath
consciously deceived him> Hughes as victimised
that the god is not the real God
Structure of 1
st
paragraph Purpose: gives background info on P > shows impact of fathers death
which influenced / governed her life
In that flash Line deliberately singled-out: represents the destruction to Hs life
You ricocheted Onomatopoeia: powerful, furious, out of control
The elect/ More or less died
on impact
Confronting language / word choice: readers are aware of Hs elect >
therefore evoking sympathy > representing idea that he had no hope /
chance > victim. Also refers to other men > collective group of victims of P
And your Saturday night
panics
Brings about the notion that Ps various frights are routinely
You hair done this way and
done that way
Repetitive quality: refers back to idea of P as masked (Veronica Lake bang
idea = Fulbright S.) > deception > outside appearance not representing her
complex self
Event the cheek-scar, /
Where you seem to have
side-swiped concrete,
Served as a rifling groove
Allusion cheek-scar: suicide attempt > Ps instability aged H
Metaphor served as a rifling groove: first evidence of sympathy for P due
to the fact that her father caused her this pain
Further reinforced in lines: Your real target/ Hid behind me. Your Daddy
> also serves as direct allusion to Ps poem Daddy.
Vague as mist, I did not
even know/ I had been hit
Simile: links to the idea that H was a victim of P, connoting his innocence
Deliberate placing of the line I had been hit: emphasises H vulnerability
I managed/ A wisp of your
hair, your ring, you watch,
your nightgown.
Listing: of objects which represent P, but do not show a connection to her,
highlighting the fact that all he was left with was objects when she left him

THE MINOTAUR:

QUOTE TECHNIQUE > ANALYSIS
The mahogany table-top you smashed/ The opening line is dramatic and accusatory in tone.
Mapped with the scare of my whole like Metaphor: creates an image of Hughes childhood
and highlights the fact that the mahogany
tabletop was of great importance to him
Smash
Snapped
Onomatopoeia: provide a dramatic edge to the
poem and liken Plaths actions to those of the
destructive Minotaur
Demented by my being Metaphor: presents Plath as mad, irrational and
unstable
The Minotaur Allusion: to the Greek legend. The minotaur was
half-man half-bull. The creature resided in the
twisting maze of a labyrinth, where he was offered
a regular sacrifice of youths and maids to satisfy his
cannibalistic hunger. He was eventually destroyed
by the hero Theseus. This can be interpreted as an
extended metaphor for Otto Plath (Plaths father);
portraying him as the person responsible for Plaths
depression and suicide because he died when she
was a young age, making her obsessive about
perfect male figures
You Mix of first and second-person narration: used to
draw out the conflicting perspectives between the
two characters. The first person evidences a
defensive self-justification of the persona, whilst
the accusatory language in evident in second
person narration
Smash it into kindling. / Thats the stuff youre
leaving out of your poems!
Irony and hyperbole: used to draw attention to
Plaths excessive acts of violence
Considered and calmer Alliteration: portrays Hughes as supportive and soft
Deep in the cave of your ear/ The goblin snapped
his fingers/ So what had I given him?
Allusion: to the Minotaur further reinforces the idea
that Plath was still, years later, deeply troubled and
suffering as a consequence of her fathers death.
Thus, Hughes places the blame on Ottos death,
rather than his own affairs with other women, as
the reason behind Plaths suicide
Unraveled your marriage,/ Left your children
echoing/ Like tunnels in a labyrinth
Metaphor and allusion: to the Minotaur, again,
highlights the notion that Otto demanded the
sacrifice of his daughter and as a consequence her
family was left feeling alone and lost

SAM:

QUOTE TECHNIQUE > ANALYSIS
It was all of a piece to you Negative connotations: of piece raises the idea
that Plath lacked devotion and a kind and caring
nature towards Hughes
The white calm stallion, Sam,/ Decided hed had
enough
Extended metaphor: likens Hughes to Sam a
horse which Plath rode and explained in her poem
Whiteness I remember., Hence, Hughes portrays
himself as an innocent victim of Plaths mental
instability until he could not bear her personality
any longer and he moved on with another woman
An upside-down jockey with nothing Dark humour: used to lure in readers and
metaphorically portray Plath as unstable and
insecure due to problems of her own causing,
therefore, portraying Hughes, as Sam, as the
innocent victim of her own issues
You lost your stirrups Truncated sentence, metaphor and use of second
person: directly addresses Plath, whilst
emphasising the idea that Plath had lost all control
and sense of security in her life, which led to her
suicide
It was grab his nick and adore him/ Or free-fall Metaphor: used to highlight the idea that Plaths
worship needed a God (The Shot), linking back to
the idea that her father, Otto, whom died when
Plath was 8, was the stimulus behind Plaths image
of perfection, like God, for a man
When I jumped a fence you strangled me Metaphor: relates to when Hughes jumped the
fence and had an affair with Assia Wevill, which is
believed to be a cause of Plaths suicide, therefore,
Plath strangled Hughes by completely leaving
him. This idea is further reinforced in the line:
Flung Yourself off and under my feet to trip me
which connotes the idea that Plath committed
suicide in order to make Hughes life miserable

YOUR PARIS:

QUOTE TECHNIQUE > ANALYSIS
My
I
First person narration: encourages readers to side
with his view of Paris: My Paris/ Was only just not
German. The capital/ Of the occupation and the
old nightmare. Thus, Hughes discusses his view of
Paris as being scarred by the effects of World War
Two. In contrast, Plaths response is represented as
gushing and over-enthusiastic by the
onomatopoeia of: shatter of exclamations and
ecstasies that ricocheted/ Off the walls which
presents Plaths response as superficial which,
again, relates back to the idea that Plath was
mentally problematic and that her true person was
kept hidden from the outside world. Consequently,
strengthening Hughes view that he was the victim,
not Plath.
Your Paris, I thought, was American Second person: used to distance Hughes and
Plaths conflicting perspectives of Paris. The
reference to America can also be linked to
Fulbright Scholars: your exaggerated American
grin which is used to highlight the idea that Plath
deliberately hides her true self, representing
Hughes as a victim of her deception
Fitzgerald, Henry Miller, Gertrude Stein Listing: of famous American writers emphasises
Plaths oblivion the Paris past events, presenting
her as naive
Stared at the stricken, sunny exposure of
pavement (sibilance)

Walls patched and scabbed with posters
(personification)

The stink of fear still hanging in the wardrobes
(metaphor)
Captures a sense of trauma from which Paris is
trying to overcome, which certainly contrasts with
Plaths materialistic view of Paris, which is
reinforced through the repetitive quality of the
lines: frame after frame/ Street after street, of
Impressionist paintings
The thesaurus of your cries Hyperbole: suggests that Plath has a different
language to Hughes and that he, therefore, does
not understand her
What walked beside me was flayed,/ One walking
wound that the air/ Coming against it kept in a
fever, wincing/ To agonies
Metaphor: used to connote a perspective of Plath
suffering extreme mental and emotional pain that
was beyond his and their martial relationship.
Flayed also suggests that her pain was self-
inflicted.
Alliteration and deliberate hyperbolic metaphor: to
depict his wife as mentally unstable.
Your practiced lips/ Translated into spasms Assonance: creates imagery of rehearsal,
reinforcing the idea that Plath is not genuine and
that everything that is real is buried beneath the
surface
Your gushy burblings Onomatopoeia: creates an image of Plath being
excessive, exaggerated and artificial. Therefore,
Hughes presents himself as the innocent victim of
Plaths deceptive depiction
Where you still hurtled, scattering tears Onomatopoeia: links to the idea that Plath was
mentally unstable something that Hughes
represents as beyond the control of their martial
relationship
There mere dog in me, happy to protect you
Like a guide dog; loyal to correct your stumblings
Metaphor: used to present Hughes as a caring, loyal
and compassionate husband whom ensured Plaths
safety

RED:

QUOTE TECHNIQUE > ANALYSIS
Blood-red. Was it blood? Repetitive quality: alludes to Plaths suicide attempt
When you had your way finally/ Our room was
red. A judgement chamber
Truncated sentences: highlights the idea that Plath
held most of the power in the relationship. The idea
of the judgement chamber is a powerful
metaphor which connotes the idea that Hughes
was a victim of Plath through creating imagery of
containment
Like blood lobbing from a gash Metaphor: Hughes begins to use blood and
bleeding as a metaphor for their damaged
relationship which caused pain, heartache and and
sadness
You revelled in red Alliteration and irony: used to highlight the idea
that Plath enjoyed and celebrated pain
Blue was better for you. Blue was wings. Alliteration and truncated sentences: creates
imagery of freedom, liberty and hope for an escape
from her mental instability
But the jewel you lost was blue. Mournful tone: suggests that Plaths death was
hard for Hughes to overcome


RELATED TEXT: ROBIN MORGAN
QUOTE TECHNIQUE > ANALYSIS
I accuse/ Ted Hughes The murder if Sylvia Plath Deliberate line placement and rhyme: shows a clear
conflicting perspective with each of Hs poems, as
Morgan immediately addresses the blame on H as
the instrument in Ps death through her strong
accusatory tone, reflecting Morgans disbelief at Hs
self-defiance
Mind-rape and body-rape, infidelity Litany: draws attention to Hs many faults, all which
had a significantly negative effect on Ps health and
wellbeing
Puerile, pretentious dribbles of verse, but/ real
blood on real hands
Alliteration of P: mimics Morgans disgust at Hs
cover-up
Metaphor: devalues Hs poems and brings about
the notion of Hs falseness
Repetition of real: reinforces the cunning nature of
Hs crimes towards P
If hes killed one wife, hes killed two Intertextuality: of Ps poem Daddy and alludes to
the fact that both his past wives, P and Assia Wevill,
committed suicide after being in a relationship with
H
Finding the ovens fumes less lethal/ than their
husbands love
Comparison: likens Hs love to being as deadly as a
gas oven and brings about the idea that his wives
would rather die than be under the imprisonment of
H
Alliteration: adds weight to the comparison
Irony: H has caused the death of two women
through suicide, strengthening Morgans argument
that H is obviously the one to blame
The legions of critical necrophiles Dissonant tone: as she accuses H as having a sexual
attraction to corpses due to him causing the death
of his two wives
Sew up his poetasting lipsand blow up his
brains/
Who knows?
Alliteration and strong metaphors: of gruesome
images express Morgans fantasy, where women
achieve justice
Rhetorical question: leaves the option open,
evidencing a threat towards H



POSSIBLE THESIS STATEMENTS:
People will always be positioned differently in observing events, personalities and situations due to
ones own individuality.
Bias and other forces result in the selectivity of memory or hindsight
There are also varying motivations for creating a clash of opposing viewpoints in any text.
People are always quick to enforce the correctness of their perspective over those of others.
Composers deliberate contrasting of their perspectives against others seeks to advantage their
own point of view, opposed to the viewpoints of others.
Composers of texts attempt to convince audiences of the veracity of their arguments and
manipulate them into adopting their perspective of events, personalities and situations. This
can be achieved through the composer's deliberate implementation of a myriad of language
forms and features which they employ to elevate their own perspective whilst dismissing the
credibility of the other. [Introduce texts here, including a brief summary of the conflicting
perspectives that are portrayed in them through representation]


Key ideas in Hughes poetry:
- Unreliable nature of memory > relationship of memory / truth
- Truth limited by knowledge
- Truth can be distorted
- Time alters truth
- Victim to Plaths deception
- Favour patriarchal society
- Personal voice > 1st person
- Addressing Plath > 2nd person
- Retrospective > looking back, reflecting
- Truth is subjective
- Poetry as a representation of psychological truth