The Thought Fox

This is a poem about writing a poem. Its action appears to take place in a room late at night where the poet is sitting alone at his desk. But the poet senses a presence in his mind which disturbs him.

The presence appears at first in the darkness beyond his thoughts but it slowly takes shape like a fox in the night and eventually becomes real as a poem inside his mind.

Ted Hughes was born in 1930 in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire. His early years were lived in a rural setting where he learnt the love of nature and its creatures.

He would later study at Cambridge University where he and some fellow students produced a poetry journal. It was at the launch of this journal that he met the American poet, Sylvia Plath, whom he soon married.

Hughes believed that poetry and magic were intertwined. Each is a healer. Each is the means to transport the human spirit from the dark, subconscious side of human nature into the world of light and well-being.

Poetry therefore lies in the world of creation, in the world of everyday miracles. It is the pathway into the realm of the imagination, the journey into the inner universe and exploration of the genuine self.

The modern world, said Hughes, overvalues the rational, objective side of human nature. Such beliefs cause fear and pain. Healing and renewal, on the other hand, are the true purpose of poetry and magic.

The poet is therefore a shaman -- a magical medicine man who makes journeys to the underworld of the subconscious to bring back lost souls.

His wife, Sylvia Plath, committed suicide in February 1963 and her death affected Hughes profoundly. It would take four years before he published again -- and this collection contained some truly bleak poems.

Hughes died of a heart attack in October 1998 while undergoing treatment for colon cancer. He was then 68 years of age.

Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:


Is this fox a real creature? Explain. (4)

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The poet explains at the outset that the fox is imaginary: "I imagine this midnight moment's forest," he says. He is therefore writing a poem about an imagined fox. At the same time, however, the fox becomes alive, becomes real both in the poet's mind, within the poem itself and also within the imagination of the reader. This is achieved through the poet's description of the fox and its movements. Moreover, the fox suddenly becomes more than just movement: there is the "sudden sharp hot stink of fox" as it becomes very real in the mind.

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The term metafiction is used to describe certain types of literature.

• Find out what is meant by metafiction. (4)

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For our purposes, metafiction exists when an author sets out to create a work of art, a story or a play, and tells the audience right at the outset that this story is not true. As the story unfolds, however, it takes on a reality: it becomes real. In the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar, the audience is told upfront that what they are about to see is just another story. A bus then rolls up in the Israeli desert in the modern day, the cast steps out and begin donning their simplistic costumes for their role. In the end, however, Jesus is indeed crucified and the cast afterwards leaves on the bus, but each member is now downcast at what has happened. What started off as a play has become real, and actors have killed Jesus.

• In what way can this poem be said to be metafictional? (4)

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As in all metafiction, the poet tell his readers upfront that this is merely an imaginary work of art. The fox is only a creature of the poet's imagination. The poet is writing a poem. The poet reinforces this idea at the end of his poem. In the final verse, the fox "enters the dark hole of the head", the poet completes his poem and it is printed onto a page. On the other hand, the fox becomes truly alive as the poem progresses. We can see him, we can feel him, we can even smell him. Although the fox is imaginary, therefore, he is also a created creature which now exists but not only just in the mind of the poet but also in every mind of those who read the poem.

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"Through the window I see no star:
Something more near
Though deeper within darkness
Is entering the loneliness."

• Why does the poet use the expression "more near" rather than "nearer"? (4)

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One could put it down to poetic license: the poet simply prefers to say it that way. On the other hand, it does allow the poet to dwell upon two separate meanings. Apart from the term "more near" which means "nearer", one could also add in a couple of pauses in order to change the meaning complete: "Something more (pause to think) near though deeper within the darkness".

• The term "more" often implies a comparison: "more than". To what then is the poet referring when he says "more": more than what? (2)

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The poet is implying that there is another object other than the star: the fox is more near than the star.

• What is it that is entering the poet's loneliness? (2)

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At first glance, it is the fox that is entering the scene. But it is more than the fox, isn't it? The poet is in fact speaking about an imaginary fox, a thought of a fox, a thought-fox. So there is nothing actually nearby. The poet is all alone with his thoughts.

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"Cold, delicately as the dark snow
A fox's nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now
And again now, and now, and now."

• Why does the poet refer to the fox's nose as "cold" and "delicate"? (4)

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Literally, it is true. Like a dog, a fox would have a cold, wet nose. It is delicate because the nose is gently picking up the scent of things. It is also winter with snow on the ground, which would make the fox's nose doubly cold. On the other hand, the fox is as yet merely a delicate thought. It has not yet developed into a fully grown being. The thought itself is therefore still cold and delicate.

• In what way does the fox enter the poet's loneliness? (4)

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The poet is alone and so the fox gives him company. On the other hand, however, the fox is merely a thought, a thought which begins to expand and fill the poet's empty, lonely mind.

• What does the poet mean when he says that "two eyes serve a movement"? (2)

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It is dark outside or in the poet's mind. All he can see are the two eyes, real or in his imagination. Nevertheless, these two eyes represent the total movement of the animal -- or of the thought of the animal.

• What is the purpose of repeating the word "and now"? (2)

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The poet uses this repetition, together with the commas, to indicate a series of short stabbing or staccato movements on the part of the thought-fox. On the other hand, it might also represent the staccato, hesitant flow of the poet's thoughts as he writes his poem.

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