Help me pls i dont understand this poem called the lake by ted hughes

Better disguised then the leaf insect,

A sort of subtler armadillo,
The lake turns with me as I walk,

Snuffles at my feet for what i might drop or kick up,
Sucks and slobbers the stones, snorts through its lips

Into broken glass, smacks its chops.
It has eaten several my size

Without developing a preference-
Prompt, with a splash, to whatever i offer.

It ruffles in its wallow, or lies sunning,
Digesting old, senseless bicycles

And a few shoes. The first down there
Do not know they have been swallowed,

Any more than the girl out there, who over the stern
of a rowboat
Tests its depth with her reflection

How the outlets fears it-dragging it out,
Black and yellow, a maniac eel,

Battering it to death with sticks and stones!

If you have never come across the term personification, look it up. That is all this is.

Charles is correct. But there is little to understand from this insanity other than that. Actually it should be an asset for you not to understand this poem. Lucky you. LOL

Well when i read this poem i get the idea that they are comparing the lake to a big monster and maybey the meaning is that everyone is to worried about their life that they get sucked in to a abyss... does anyone agree with me?

You are overthinking this one.

Excuse me, big news. Jodi guilty of first degree murder, as it should be, regardless of the miserable life her crazy companion chose to live.

can anyone help me understand the meaning if im overthinking this?

This poem seems to be a good example of what formalist critics like Yvor Winters referred to as "obscurantism," which is to say
extremely personal statement that is difficult to comprehend by speakers who use "common" and "public" language.

Just examine the following excerpt:

It ruffles in its wallow, or lies sunning,
Digesting old, senseless bicycles

And a few shoes. The first down there
Do not know they have been swallowed,

Any more than the girl out there, who over the stern
of a rowboat
Tests its depth with her reflection

How the outlets fears it-dragging it out,
Black and yellow, a maniac eel,

Battering it to death with sticks and stones!

That sounds very impressive, but the meaning is quite obscure...

do you know if its freeverse?

all im getting from this

It ruffles in its wallow, or lies sunning,( lake is irritated and is calm at same time)
Digesting old, senseless bicycles(Lake is eating anything not meaningful)

And a few shoes. The first down there ( maybey the this is comparing people to being swallowed by society?)
Do not know they have been swallowed,

Any more than the girl out there, who over the stern
of a rowboat (The girl is looking in lake not knowing she has been swallowed as well, testing her life maybey? )
Tests its depth with her reflection

How the outlets fears it-dragging it out,
( the lake dosent want to spill)
Black and yellow, a maniac eel,
(lake is viscous)

i dont really understand any of this ive looked over many time and i always just think that the lake is society and it sucks in peoples lives because they are unaware that they are doing same thing over again and trapped .

Sort of. The lake is personified to represent people in general. By describing how a lake behaves in only a slightly exaggerated way, the poet draws out human behaviour. Or he is a oststeictialist commenting on the overuse of metaphor. I'm not too sure anymore.

The poet is the lake. Hence why it turns with him as it walks. The woman's reflection is a comment on personal relationships. The lake in a sense is the body of experience attached to his person, which is a sum of everything it has taken in, including the girl's reflection.

I like that idea but i have to present in front of class tomorrow and i have to describe stanza by stanza meaning the all together at end.

You fished in this lake too long for someone to do your work for you

Much "analysis" is invention that sounds good, confidently presented. Assume that your fellow students don't understand this any more than you do, and possibly the teacher as well.

alright im pretty sure i get it now guys thanks for all your help!

i think i understand the poem, now that you guys helped me out! i went threw and did a figurative translation of all stanzas. im presenting friday ill tell you guys how it goes. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coola

i think i understand the poem, now that you guys helped me out! i went threw and did a figurative translation of all stanzas. im presenting friday ill tell you guys how it goes. :)

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If you use my reading I want you to acknowledge me in your presentation. Just say JBI, they will know who I am.


Either way, this poem once you have established to yourself what the lake represents, is easy to dissect.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coola

i think i understand the poem, now that you guys helped me out! i went threw and did a figurative translation of all stanzas. im presenting friday ill tell you guys how it goes. :)

---

If you use my reading I want you to acknowledge me in your presentation. Just say JBI, they will know who I am.


Either way, this poem once you have established to yourself what the lake represents, is easy to dissect.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coola

do you know if its freeverse?

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Well, I can't find any underlying metrical or even rhythmic or sonic structure, so I guess it could be called
"free verse." What it certainly seems to show is a preference for idiosyncratic "private" (or "personal") meaning, as
opposed to "public" language and meaning. There are things to admire in the language...it seems very suggestive and
full of import...it makes me believe that the poet is saying something profound...but ultimately I cannot say exactly what
the poet is trying to communicate.

Some would say "so what?"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JBI

The poet is the lake.

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Not a bad interpretation, but then what to make of the opening and closing lines? "Outlets" batter the poet to death with sticks and stones?