Ted Hughes’ Poetry – Relationship Between ‘The Artist’ and ‘The Work of Art’

His poetry frequently explores the relationship between the artist and the work of art, revealing the deep tension between creative expression and personal experience. Hughes saw poetry as a force that emerges from an artist’s unconscious, shaped by instinct, myth, and the natural world.

This relationship is particularly evident in poems like The Thought-Fox and Pike, where Hughes presents art as an organic, almost autonomous entity that reflects both the inner mind and external reality.

Understanding the Relationship Between ‘The Artist’ and ‘The Work of Art’

The connection between an artist and their art is a complex one, shaped by personal experiences, external influences, and the unpredictable nature of inspiration. Hughes’ poetry suggests that:

1. Art is a Manifestation of the Unconscious: Hughes believed that creativity stems from deep psychological and instinctual forces rather than rational thought.

2. The Artist is a Medium, Not a Creator: His poems often depict the artist as a vessel through which artistic forces express themselves.

3. Art Reflects the Natural and Mythic World: Hughes’ fascination with nature, mythology, and primal energies influenced his view that poetry is a form of engagement with deeper realities.

To explore these ideas, we will analyze two of Hughes’ poems: The Thought-Fox and Pike.

1. The Thought-Fox – The Creative Process as an Instinctual Force

Overview of the Poem

• The Thought-Fox is a celebrated poem from Hughes’ collection The Hawk in the Rain (1957).

• It is often read as an extended metaphor for the act of artistic creation.

• The poem describes a fox stealthily moving through the darkness, symbolizing the arrival of poetic inspiration.

The Artist’s Struggle for Inspiration

• The poem begins with the poet sitting alone at midnight, attempting to write. The setting is quiet and isolated, emphasizing the difficulty of the creative process.

• The fox’s movements mirror the gradual emergence of a poetic idea, suggesting that inspiration is something that must be sensed rather than forced.

Art as an Independent Entity

• The fox in the poem is more than a simple metaphor for creativity; it has its own life and presence. Hughes describes its “hot stink of fox” and “delicate, bold” movements, giving it a sense of agency.

• This aligns with Hughes’ belief that poetry is not created by the poet but arrives as a living force that the poet merely channels.

Final Moment of Artistic Creation

• The poem concludes with the fox fully entering the poet’s mind, leading to the words appearing on the page.

• This reinforces the idea that the act of writing is not an entirely conscious process but something closer to a natural, even animalistic instinct.

2. Pike – Art as a Reflection of Nature’s Primal Forces

Overview of the Poem

• Pike is one of Hughes’ most well-known poems, reflecting his fascination with nature’s violent and predatory aspects.

• It describes the fish in both an observational and symbolic way, emphasizing its power, beauty, and menace.

The Artist as an Observer of the Natural World

• Hughes presents the pike as a creature of pure instinct and survival, untouched by human concerns.

• The poet’s role is to observe and capture this raw, untamed energy through language.

Art as an Extension of the Natural World

• The precise, almost scientific details in Pike reflect Hughes’ belief that poetry should imitate nature’s intensity and truth.

• The descriptions, such as “killers from the egg” and “submarine delicacy and horror,” illustrate how art must embrace both beauty and brutality.

The Work of Art as Something Beyond the Artist

• The speaker recalls keeping pike in a pond and experiencing an almost supernatural awareness of their presence.

• This suggests that art, like nature, possesses its own independent life. Once created, a poem is no longer just the artist’s expression but an entity in itself.

Conclusion – Hughes’ Vision of Art and the Artist

• Hughes’ poetry presents art as something primal, instinctual, and deeply connected to the forces of nature.

• The artist is not a master of their creation but a participant in a greater, wilder process.

• In poems like The Thought-Fox and Pike, we see that Hughes does not depict artistic creation as an intellectual endeavor but as something driven by unconscious energies and external realities.

Thus, for Hughes, poetry is not a product of controlled craftsmanship alone but an organic force that emerges through the artist, shaped by the unpredictable movements of the natural world and the subconscious mind.