Summary Of Thrushes By Ted Hughes

In this article, I am going to discuss with you the summary of Thrushes poem, which is basically an
animal poem written by Ted Hughes.

Ted Hughes was one of the best poets of his generation and one of the 20th century’s greatest writers.
He was appointed as poet Laureate in 1984 and held the office until his death.

He was known for his animal poetry like The Thought Fox, Thrushes, Hawk in the Rain, The Horses, and
many more, and is known as an animal poet who places animals superior to human beings.

In the poem Thrushes, the poet compares Thrushes with human beings and tries to depict that
Thrushes are far better than human beings.

The poem has been written in 3 stanzas with 8 lines in each stanza.
The title of the poem is Thrushes, and Thrush is a kind of small bird.

Summary Of Thrushes By Ted Hughes

As we begin the Thrushes summary, at the beginning of the poem, the writer says that the thrushes
are on the lawn and are looking at their prey quite attentively, and when they do this, they look quite
terrifying. The poet has used the word Sleek to show how smooth and glossy their body is.

As their body is so smooth and glossy, it seems that they are not living creature, but instead made of
coiled steel, that is how calm and confident they are.

They have dark and deadly eyes, and delicate legs that trigger/activate for movement when they look
at their prey far off and she will start to bounce and stab from behind. She will instantly overtake and
the prey of the thrush will be dragged by it from the land.

There is no laziness or delay in this action of thrushes, as is seen in human beings. Thrushes never
procrastinate and are never in yawning states. They never scratch their head like humans. They do
nothing but bounce and stab as soon as they are sure that their prey is there. They know well how to
kill their prey and without wasting a second, they kill their prey as if they are too hungry.

The writer then wonders whether it is because of their small skull or their trained body that they are
so active and genius and not many thoughts run through their minds. It could be that they are genius
by birth, or maybe it is because their kids are waiting in the nest which is why they are so active and
quick. The writer is questioning which of these reasons is apt for explaining their bullet-like speed and
automatic purpose.

Then, the writer compares the thrushes with Mozart (a popular music composer of ancient times known
for his genius). Then he also compares them with a Shark, because when they do not find their prey
and just even smell their blood, they are so concentrated on their prey that they start devouring
themselves. And thrushes are also equally focused and concentrated on their prey.

Just like the sharks, the thrushes also hit their prey quite forcefully, they do this quite effectively and
there is no doubt about it, and no one can divert their goal, unlike the way it happens to humans.

In the last stanza, the poet has made a clear comparison between the thrushes and humans. He says
that men are not that active and focused on their goals. He says that if a man just sits on the back of
a horse, he feels of himself to be a hero. When he is just sitting on a disk and writing, or carving at a
tiny ornament for years, and even taking their work as worship, it feels like they are bending for some
kind of prayers.
But this is not true, because there are a lot of loud thoughts in their mind. Their minds are filled with
devils like Orgy and Hosannah (connected to something sexual, sexual pleasure) that come from hell,
which distracts the work of humans, so they cannot do their work as attentively as thrushes do.

The writer says that like black water appears stagnant from the surface, but if you just throw a pebble,
a lot of ripples are created and if you dive into it, you will have no idea where it started from and where
it ended. The human mind is also the same as this black water, on the surface, it looks stagnant because
there are a lot of thoughts in their minds that are running like water and there is no end to it.

So the writer wants to prove that somehow, humans are inferior to others.

The use of alliteration can be seen in the last lines of the poem and the use of metaphor can be seen
when the poet has compared the thrushes with sharks.

Analysis of Thrushes
“Thrushes” by Ted Hughes is one of his most often anthologized poems. The poet
is more taken by the thrushes’ aggressive character than with their singing abilities.
He finds their capacity to “stab” amusing. They are ‘sleek’ or ‘stylish’ on their own.
They are single-minded in their goal and so exceedingly attentive. They come
across as steel coils rather than mundanely humanistic due to their iron will. The
“dark deadly eye” draws attention to the situation with its focused gaze, and the
posture they acquire is to be admired. The delicate legs are prompted by stirrings
beyond sense, i.e. it is driven by instinct-“with a start, a bounce, a stab.” They prey
on the writhing monster quickly and instinctively. They are not marked by
indecision, lethargy, or postponement; rather, they are distinguished by
extraordinary mental presence.

No indolent procrastinations and no yawning states,

It just takes a rapacious second for this predatory being to satisfy to urge.

His behaviour appears to worship itself, and hence the vision of development is
indeed short-sighted. Though he looks to be engrossed in prayer, there are
opportunities for distraction to creep in –
Furious spaces of fire do the distracting devils
Orgy and hosanna, under what wilderness
Of black silent waters weep.

The words ‘orgy,’ ‘hosanna,’ and ‘weep’ all refer to man’s involuntary tendencies
that lead him away from his purpose. How does a man’s sexual orientation, craving
for fame, or dread of the outcome of an action distract him? “Time and waste,
depths of distraction, and the essential distinction between man and his acts are
all features of human effort,” he says. (M.L.Rosenthal) The phrase “wilderness of
black silent waters” alludes to the difficulties that await the misbehaving.