I have to analize Tall Nettles by Edward Thomas and Thistles by Ted Hughes. But I don't understand what the real intention of the poets were in these two poems and the underlying meaning. Could someone help in that?

Inge

Let's take a look at the poems:

Tall Nettles
by Edward Thomas

TALL nettles cover up, as they have done
These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough
Long worn out, and the roller made of stone:
Only the elm butt tops the nettles now.

This corner of the farmyard I like most:
As well as any bloom upon a flower
I like the dust on the nettles, never lost
Except to prove the sweetness of a shower.


Thistles

Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men
Thistles spike the summer air
And crackle open under a blue-black pressure.

Every one a revengeful burst
Of resurrection, a grasped fistful
Of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost thrust up

From the underground stain of a decayed Viking.
They are like pale hair and the gutturals of dialects.
Every one manages a plume of blood.

Then they grow grey like men.
Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear
Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground.

-- Ted Hughes

There may be something which ties the two together - a constant which observes something apparently ordinary, but comfortably familiar. The Tall Nettles poem has an undercurrent of abandonment as a theme. The Thistles poem resounds survival. This is my take, I hope it helps.

Nettles and thistles are both fierce plants. The nettles however seem to be protecting a place which they have been given because no-one else wants it. The thistle are fighting to take over land which the cows and men still want.

I had always been told that nettles were the plants which grew were blood had been spilt, (especially Vikings') not thistles. May its a regonal thing.

Nettles are very good at dragging nutrients from deep in the soil, and at growing in difficult places given the least encouragment, so would probably appear quite quickly on a battlefield, taking advantage of the minerals in spilt blood etc. If you are looking to buy a neglected property with a view to growing veg etc, the gardeners will tell you to buy one with nettles, rather than couch grass or other, less demanding plants, because the nettles indicated soil with potential and are helping to realize it.

I see them both as the theme of nature fighting back against man- the nettles are taking over the abandoned area, the thistles fighting for theirs. As a contrast, Thomas seems to approve of this, while Hughes' poem sees the plants (& Nature?) as the enemy.

pam

This post reminded me of Vernon Scannell's poem Nettles - a third take on fierce plants:

NETTLES by Vernon Scannell

My son aged three fell in the nettle bed.
'Bed' seemed a curious name for those green spears,
That regiment of spite behind the shed:
It was no place for rest. With sobs and tears
The boy came seeking comfort and I saw
White blisters beaded on his tender skin.
We soothed him till his pain was not so raw.
At last he offered us a watery grin,
And then I took my billhook, honed the blade
And went outside and slashed in fury with it
Till not a nettle in that fierce parade
Stood upright any more. And then I lit
A funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead,
But in two weeks the busy sun and rain
Had called up tall recruits behind the shed:
My son would often feel sharp wounds again

i can answer that i have the same problem,
simply.. both the poems show that nature will allways triumph over man, men die while the weeds grow bak fighting

'Thistles' by Ted Hughes Is all about how nature is more powerful than man kind. So is 'Tall Nettles'. The two contain the same theme that's why you have been asked to compare them and write about them. Centuries ago when tyhe Vikings were around, they attacked the Scots. When they were attacking they stood on thistles on the hill sides and the Scots herd them yelling in pain and were able to defeat them, that is why today the thistle is the emblem of Scotland.

In the last stanza it talks about the thistles aging and being 'mown down', but then it is also talking about the Vikings. Suddenly it changes into flurishing spring and 'Their sons appear,' Hughes is here talking about how nature will always last over humanity. The strength of thistles reborn are 'fighting back over the same ground' as they did centuries ago, but the Vikings have been worn down and vanished. Leaving thistles stronger than humanity. Thistles are representing the scotish people.

The fight for the land is a repetitive cycle, trailing back to ancient history. The battle seems like a cycle because they are resurrected, being raised from the dead, giving the image of a never-ending life. Humanity almost dictates the battle of the thistles in the sense that mankind too strives to reproduce.

In the poem we sense that the thistles are ready and prepared with their weapons for a battle. This battle is for the land, their field of reproduction. Hughes has used the idea of fighting a battle, a war, to connect with nature.

The 'Tall Nettles' by Edward Thomas is about the admiration of natures domination over mans implements. It is about natural beauty and the poem is a visual pun.

Very interesting, thanks! And a lesson to be learned as well: always wear boots in an invasion.

i want to know the difference btw ALLEGORY AND SYMBOLISM THANKS

Representing things by a symbol (such as Big Brother for the Government) can be a single instance of Symbolism. Allegory sustains the metaphor through many sentences and even to a whole book (Orwell's 1984).

i have an assignment about the differences of the two poems thistles and tall nettles, but i cannot get enough difference. Can anybody help?

This thread discussed those differences earlier. Either click on Threaded View and read the different threads, or click on Flat View and read the postings above yours.

Once you've done that, post specific questions, and we'll be happy to help.

pam

In other words, life is a b.... It's a strugle to see the good when we see so much bad, ie, wars, drugs crime, but we struggle, but we are weak and sometimes beaten down, and we rise again and begin to realize that we must fight the dark side of life.

Suck my dick!!!Ardis Ilene Barnes wrote:

hi i have an assignment to:

Compare and contrast how Hughes and Thomas use the natural world in their poems. Which poet is more effective and why?

i am not sure what i should put i have taken some advice from the other messages but would like more

Just these two poems, or their respective poetry in general? It's not an assignment you can really get right or wrong. I suspect you will be graded on your language usage and development of the theme(s). Just pick one poet and run with it, I mean.

I want to compare these two poems but i dont really know how a little help needed!

I was researching on the two poems when I chanced upon your page. You all have given very good examples. Just a note to say: keep it up!! Thank you. I was entertained by the different views.