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    Telegraph Wires

    Uploaded by

    Oscar Williams
    The poem describes telegraph wires stretched across the moorland. It suggests they allow communication between distant towns but are vulnerable to the weather. Strange sounds are transmitted through the wires that wither the ear. The final lines imply the wires draw tones from empty human bones, conveying loss and death through the lines of communication.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Telegraph Wires

    Uploaded by

    Oscar Williams
    540 views8 pages
    The poem describes telegraph wires stretched across the moorland. It suggests they allow communication between distant towns but are vulnerable to the weather. Strange sounds are transmitted through the wires that wither the ear. The final lines imply the wires draw tones from empty human bones, conveying loss and death through the lines of communication.

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    Telegraph wires

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    The poem describes telegraph wires stretched across the moorland. It suggests they allow communication between distant towns but are vulnerable to the weather. Strange sounds are transmitted through the wires that wither the ear. The final lines imply the wires draw tones from empty human bones, conveying loss and death through the lines of communication.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    540 views8 pages

    Telegraph Wires

    Uploaded by

    Oscar Williams
    The poem describes telegraph wires stretched across the moorland. It suggests they allow communication between distant towns but are vulnerable to the weather. Strange sounds are transmitted through the wires that wither the ear. The final lines imply the wires draw tones from empty human bones, conveying loss and death through the lines of communication.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 8

    Telegraph Wires

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfnC4i__02E
    What is their
    purpose?
    What do we
    associate with
    these?

    From what you already


    What could they
    know about Hughes, why
    represent in a
    do you think he wrote a
    metaphorical
    poem with this title?
    sense?
    The opening of the poem

    How does the poem begin? What do we see here that we see
    often in Ted Hughes’ poems?

    Take telegraph wires, a lonely moor,


    And fit them together. The thing comes alive in your ear.
    Telegraph Wires

    Let’s read through the


    poem. Take telegraph wires, a lonely moor,
    And fit them together. The thing comes alive in your ear.

    Thinking questions: Towns whisper to towns over the heather.


    But the wires cannot hide from the weather.
    • As you listen, what stands out in terms
    of the rhythm and sound of the poem? So oddly, so daintily made
    It is picked up and played.
    How does it sound? What is the effect?
    Link this to the role of telegraph wires. Such unearthly airs
    The ear hears, and withers!
    • What is Hughes trying to suggest about
    Telegraph Wires? In the revolving ballroom of space,
    Bowed over the moor, a bright face
    • What stands out about the last line?
    Why? Compare this to line 2. Draws out of telegraph wires the tones
    That empty human bones.
    Big Ideas & Poet Intention

    Can you find evidence for the following statements?


    o This is a poem about loss. Take telegraph wires, a lonely moor,
    And fit them together. The thing comes alive in your ear.
    • These wires may seem ever present and integral to
    our lives, but they are not indestructible. Towns whisper to towns over the heather.
    But the wires cannot hide from the weather.
    • They are inanimate but have the capacity to leave us
    devastated and shaken. So oddly, so daintily made
    It is picked up and played.
    • These wires represent both life and death.
    Such unearthly airs
    • These wires have the ability to control our lives.
    The ear hears, and withers!

    In the revolving ballroom of space,


    Bowed over the moor, a bright face

    Draws out of telegraph wires the tones


    That empty human bones.
    How can context help us?

    This is from the collection ’Wolfwatching’. What


    do we learn about this collection? What does it
    reveal in terms of this poem?

    Extension: this was published in 1989, At this


    point, Hughes had experience a lot of loss in his
    life. How might this have influenced his reasons
    for writing this poem?
    Move around the room and write!
    What does Hughes
    want us to
    understand? What is his
    message?
    Why did Hughes
    choose to write
    about telegraph
    wires?
    How has he
    combined
    communication
    How does Hughes What personal issues
    and death in this
    subvert the role of may have influenced
    poem?
    telegraph wires? Hughes? How do you
    Why? think he feels about
    telegraph wires
    In groups of 3, work through the
    questions and add your analysis to

    Analysis
    the poem in your booklet. Remember
    to use your notes on the themes,
    big ideas and poet intention to help
    you develop your analysis.

    Why has Hughes used couplets in this How has personification been
    poem? What is the effect? used in stanza 1? Why?
    Take telegraph wires, a lonely moor,
    And fit them together. The thing comes alive in your ear.

    Towns whisper to towns over the heather. What does the personification in line 4
    What is the effect of the sibilance in stanza 2? How But the wires cannot hide from the weather. suggest about the wires?
    does this reflect the personification used?
    So oddly, so daintily made
    It is picked up and played.
    Why is the word ‘unearthly’ used here?
    Such unearthly airs
    Which words create a foreboding atmosphere? The ear hears, and withers!
    What do these foreshadow?
    In the revolving ballroom of space, How has metaphor been used in stanza 5? How does this continue
    Bowed over the moor, a bright face into the final stanza? What does it suggest about the messages
    delivered?
    Draws out of telegraph wires the tones
    What is the effect of consonance in lines 6 and 11? That empty human bones. Why Has enjambement been used
    here?

    What is the effect of the rhyming


    Analyse one example of caesura. couplets? What quality does they add
    to the poem?
    End of lesson thinking question

    What other elements of technology do you think we could look


    at in the same way that Hughes considers telegraph wires?
    How do they affect our lives - was this the intention?
    Extension: how far have you progressed in terms of the
    learning question?

    Learning question:
    What is Hughes trying to convey in this poem?

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