The Poem: Moon Wind by Ted Hughes | New Oxford Modern English | Grade 7 | English Literature

Moon WindBy Ted Hughes Learning Objectives To read and comprehend the text. Improve vocabulary Understand the poem Attempt all the questions Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was born in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire. He was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. He went to Cambridge University to study English and later switched to Archaeology and Anthropology. He won many prizes for his poems and was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984. “Moon-Wind” is a very interesting poem written by Ted Hughes. This poem is full of poet's fantasy imagery. He imagines that if there were earth-like life on moon, everything would be blown by the strong wind blowing there. The poet imagines that the moon wind is so strong that it could rip apart anything held by roots, nails and screws. In this poem, the poet presents a very strange phenomenon of the wind on the moon. He then goes on to point out that the wind seems to be howling all over the moon's surface but that howling is in utter stillness. It is really a very strange phenomenon indeed and the poet uses amazing oxymoron such as, bright darkness, dark sunlight or cold flames! In the poem we also come across very unusual things such as a squall of cabbages and a somersaulting giraffe. Here we see how the poet has used his imagination to create completely new images with which to amuse and startle us. It is a great poetic creation. There is no wind on the moon at allYet things get blown about.In utter utter stillness Your candle shivers out In utter stillnessA giant marquee Booms and flounders past youLike a swan at sea. In utter utter stillness Knocks you off your feet. In utter utter stillness While you stand agog A tearing twisting sheet of pond Clouts you with a frog. A camp of caravans suddenly Squawks and takes off. A Ferris wheel bounds along the skyline Like a somersaulting giraffe. Roots and foundations, nails and screws, Nothing can hold fast, Nothing can resist the moon's Dead-still blast. Words Meanings Stillness: The absence of movement or sound. Clouts: Hits Ferris Wheel: A giant revolving wheel, as seen at fun fairs Flounders: Struggles and plunges as in mud or while wading Giant: Huge Marquee: A large tent Squall: A sudden and violent gust of wind Utter: Complete Agog: Excited Squawks: Loud, harsh noise Bounds: Walk or run with leaping strides Somersaulting: Turn over completely in the air  Resist: Withstand the action or effect of. Dead still blast: Absolutely without movement Answer the following questions. Qa. How do things get blown about on the moon if there is no wind? Ans. Actually things do not get blown on the moon where gravity is much less as compared to that of the earth. Here the poet tries to draw the picture of the wind which we find on our planet. The movement of things is stopped by the gravity but there much less gravity, so the things when once pushed move on for a longer time because everything is weightless on the moon, and the surface of the moon is airless and still. Unscientifically speaking, in any fantasy poem, anything can happen. Qb. When the moon-wind begins to blow, some strange things happen. Make the list of the unlikely things that take place on the moon. Ans. According to the poet the following strange things happen: A squall of hens and cabbages knocks you off your feet. A tearing twisting sheet of pond clouts you with a frog. A camp of caravans squawks. A Ferris wheel bounds along the skyline. #7thclass #Newoxfordmodernenglish #MoonWind