The Thought Fox is famous poem written by British Poet and translator, Ted Hughes. The poem was originally published 1957 in poet’s collection ” The Hawk in the Pain”. The Thought Fox is 24 Lines poem divided into an octave and four quatrains. The main theme of poem is Creativity, Inspiration and Imagination.
THE THOUGHT FOX BY TED HUGHES
Summary of The Thought Fox By Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes was famous for using animal imaginary in his poems, he create an animal image in his poems and explains his poem around the qualities of animals. In poem “Thought Fox”, poet saw an image of Fox and explain poem around the qualities of Fox.
The story of poem begins with poet who is imagining himself in dark forest at a middle of night, he feels someone else is alive as well as I have a silent clock, and black paper who is waiting for me to write on it. In first stanza, we learn poet is sitting in room, trying to write something on blank paper and time is passing slowly slowly. He imagining himself in forest though but nothing creative is coming to his mind to write on paper.
When I look outside my room’s window I see no star in sky which means when poet put pressure on his mind he doesn’t get any creative thought. My thought is very near to me but there is so darkness that I can’t see it properly. I’m having lots of thoughts in my mind but it does not coming out from my mind. And this restlessness killing my loneliness.
The poet says he saw something in his imagination which is a Fox who is touching its cold nose with twig and leaf. Our poet is lost in his imagination, he saw snow in forest where is one Fox whose nose is very cold. That Fox is coming closer to me slowly-slowly.
At first, poet was only able to see Fox cold nose but now poet can see Fox’s eye. Fox is coming near to poet and its foot leaving mark behind in nose. Through Fox Shadow, I can see that Fox is lame and injured and still Fox is very conscious and bold.
Fox has stopped walking and become very alert, when Fox saw me from bushes then her eyes spread and his complete concentration is on its business. Fox what his business is and he is minding his own business.
The poet says now I can smell the stench of Fox and it immediately entered into my mind dark hole. Here poet is trying to says, the thought he was thinking about so long has immediately come into his mind but it is still dark and poet has no idea about it.
There are still no stars in sky and clock is still ticking, everything is same but one thing has changed which was blank paper, poet has wrote is creative idea on it. I wrote the poem on blank paper which you are reading now.