Full Moon and Little Frieda, by Ted Hughes

 A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket - 

And you listening. 

A spider's web, tense for the dew's touch. 

A pail lifted, still and brimming - mirror 

To tempt a first star to a tremor. 

Cows are going home in the lane there, looping the hedges with their warm 

wreaths of breath - 

A dark river of blood, many boulders, 

Balancing unspilled milk. 

'Moon!' you cry suddenly, 'Moon! Moon!' 

The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work 

That points at him amazed.

Story

This poem describes the poet, Hughes, addressing his daughter, Frieda, talking about an amazing moment when she sees the reflection of the moon inside a bucket, and calls it by it's name. This could possibly be her first world.

The setting is the yard of their house, or farm.

Tone

The tone is very affectionate and loving and the father is joyful in the progress of his daughter. There is a sense of joy in this shared momentous experience.

Deeper Meaning

The father's pride in the linguistic development of his daughter. He conveys this through how the world is shaped through the language we use.

However, as amazing as a moment this is for the father, it is actually a very small event on the cosmic scale of things. Nonetheless, it is an extremely important event for him as a father.

Structure and Form

This poem is written in free verse which means that he can structure the poem how he wants, and talk about his surrounding scene.

We are given the component parts of the scene is a list-like form, which makes the poem extremely visual, and more like an artistic painting.