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Litmosphere

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The Thought Fox
Ted Hughes

Introduction

The poem ‘Thought Fox’ is written by Ted Hughes, an English poet.

It tells us about poetic inspiration and the process of creativity. The poet uses a powerful
image of a fox, at midnight, moving in darkness, appearing before the poet slowly, bit by bit,
first the nose, then the nose smelling a twig and leaf, then the paws setting neat prints into the
snow, moving through the trees and stumps, then an eye, then two eyes, then the stern and
resolute steps, and finally the hot stink of the fox, that enters the dark hole of the head, the
window is open still, and the clock ticks, and the page is printed, a poem is born finally.

The poem summary

Ted Hughes, the poet, is seated at his table, trying to write a poem. It is midnight. He is all
alone.

Stanza 1: The poet imagines that the midnight moment is forest. He is all alone except for the
clock, and the blank page on which his fingers move. But he feels that there is something else
that is alive.
What could be that something else?

Stanza 2: Through the window, he can see no star. But something more near, something deeper
within darkness, is entering the loneliness. It is quite dark and the poet can't see it clearly.

Stanza 3: The fox’s nose, which is cold and delicate as the dark snow, touches a twig, a leaf.
He can see two eyes moving.

Stanza 4: The fox is setting neat prints now and again in the snow between trees. There is a
lame shadow slowly moving by the stump. Soon the fox is moving towards the poet.

Stanza 5: Across the clearings, the poet can see an eye, a widening and deepening greenness.
Now the fox is brilliantly and in full concentration coming about its own business.

Stanza 6: Then there is the sudden hot stink of a fox as it enters the dark hole of the head. The
window is still starless. The clock is ticking and the page is printed. A poem is born.
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I. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences:

1. How does the poet express his loneliness?

The poet imagines that this midnight moment is a forest. Nothing is there except the
clock and the blank page. But he feels something else is alive. The forest symbolises the poet’s
mind in which something, a thought, is alive.

2. Comment on the images the speaker uses to express the time when he is alone and it is
midnight.
The speaker uses the powerful image of a forest to express his loneliness at midnight.
He can see no star through the window. But something more near is entering the loneliness.

3. Do you think that the forest here refers to the speaker's mind? Why?
The forest refers to the speaker's mind. The poet is sitting in his room at midnight to
write a poem. At first the mind is blank. Then the thought, the idea, comes like a fox in a forest.

4. Describe the features of the fox as mentioned by the speaker.

The nose of the fox is delicate and cold like the dark snow. It touches a twig, a leaf. He
can see two eyes of the fox moving. The fox sets neat footprints in the snow between trees.

5. How does the fox imply the creative response of the speaker
“The fox” implies the creative response of the speaker. The cold and delicate fox sets
imprints on the snow; it means that the poet is composing poetry. Finally, the clock ticks, and
the page is printed; it means, the poem is completed.

Answer the following questions in a paragraph:

1. Consider starless night as a symbol of a blank/empty mind.

It is midnight, and the poet is all alone. He is sitting with a pen and a book, trying to
write poetry. Looking through the window, he can see no star. It is all dark around. The
midnight’s moment is a forest. It symbolises the empty mind of the poet. Ideas are not coming
forth. Nothing is around, except the clock and the blank page. However, he feels something
else is alive. Something slowly breaks the darkness and loneliness; it’s the fox that enters the
dark empty forest, with sure steps. His mind gets filled with the spark, and a poem is born.

2. Write a note on the significance of the title, ‘Thought Fox’.

The title of the poem, ‘Thought Fox’ metaphorically signifies poetic inspiration. A fox
is a mysterious creature. It moves slyly through the darkness of the forest. The poet’s mind is
like a forest. He is ready to write poetry, but his mind is blank. His fingers move on the blank
page. Slowly but surely, the thought fox enters. it touches a twig and a leaf; it stirs the poet’s
imagination. The darkness is cleared and ideas flow into his mind. Soon the poem is complete.
The forest here symbolises the poet’s mind; the fox is inspiration.
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3. Write a short note on the sequence of images used by the speaker to describe the fox.
‘Thought Fox’ contains a sequence of images that illustrate the process of creative
work. The imagery of “fox” signifies inspiration. The forest is the poet’s mind. The fox - the
thought - fills the "dark hole" which is the poet’s mind. It delicately sets "prints" into the snow.
They are, in fact, words on the "blank paper". The fox’s cold nose touches twigs and leaves.
The poet sees two eyes moving. A shadow moves slowly towards the poet. Now the fox is
coming about its own business. Then there is the sudden hot stink of the fox as it enters a dark
hole in the head. The clock ticks, and the page is printed.

4. How does the poet develop the connection between the process of creative writing and the
image of a fox creeping through the forest?
In ‘The Thought Fox’, Ted Hughes beautifully develops the connection between the
process of creative writing and the image of a fox creeping through the forest. The poet is
sitting alone, to write a poem. It is midnight and the sky is starless. He looks through the
window but nothing is visible. His mind is like a dark forest where nothing is clear. Then, he
sees something moving. It is a fox. The cold, delicate nose of the fox touches a twig, a leaf. He
can see two eyes moving. As the fox approaches, its paws make clear print in the dark snow of
the poet's imagination. The fox is inspiration, and the footprints are the verses. The poem is
complete.

5. Do you think the line "It enters the dark hole of the head" signals the collision of the animal
and the idea?
The line "It enters the dark hole of the head" signals the collision of the animal and the
idea. Spark comes with collision. When the poet starts at midnight, his mind is blank, just like
the starless sky. Nothing is visible through the window. Then, as he concentrates, he can see
the though fox coming towards him coldly and delicately. Ideas start moving in the forest of
his imagination. The fox touches a twig, a leaf. It starts making footprints in the dark snow of
the poet's mind. Then there is the sudden hot stink of the fox, as it enters the dark hole in the
head. The collision brings ideas. The clock ticks, and the page is printed. A poem is born.

III. Answer the following questions in about 300 words.

1. Consider "Thought Fox" as a poem about the process of creative writing.

In the poem, ‘Thought Fox’, Ted Hughes is writing about inspiration and the process
of writing poetry. The poem starts with the description of a silent, starless night. The poet is
sitting alone at his desk to compose a poem. But his mind is blank. His fingers are just moving
on a blank paper.
The poet imagines the midnight’s moment as a forest. He senses that “something else
is alive”. “Something more near, though deeper within darkness is entering the loneliness”.
The night is symbolic of imagination. The muse often comes at unexpected moments. At the
odd time of midnight, sitting alone, the poet feels that an idea stirs in the darkness of his brain.
The fox is a symbol of thought, the thought fox. In the silent night, when his mind was
blank, he sees the fox’s nose and eyes. The fox’s nose touches “twig, leaf”. The fox coldly and
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delicately moves in the darkness. The fox remains half-hidden and elusive at the beginning.
But then, it starts moving forward. We see the widening and deepening eye, making things
clearer to the poet.
Gradually, the fox emerges out of its formlessness. The poet speaks about the “sudden
sharp hot stink of fox”. It is the completion of the work of creation; the birth of a beautiful
poem. The poet has been able to write the poem as the fox is soon visible. The ideas are
suddenly within the poet's mind, and they have been printed on to the page.
Ted Hughes tells us that writing a poem is not an easy task. The poem tells us about the
struggle of the poet, sitting alone, at midnight, and trying to write a poem. At the start, his mind
is blank. But as he concentrates, ideas start coming in, as a fox that appears stealthily and
delicately in a dark forest. The window is starless still; however, the clock ticks, the page is
printed, and a poem is born.

Prepared by:
Prof. Murukan Babu C.R.,
Principal, Nirmala College of Arts and Science, Chalakudy,
(formerly) Associate Professor of English, Panampilly Memorial Govt. College, Chalakudy.