Such a frost
The flimsy moon
Has lost her wits.
A star falls.
The sweating farmers
Turn in their sleep
Like oxen on spits.
This quotation summarises the poem 'The Warm and the Cold,' but puts a slightly harsher spin on it. The desperation of the moon, which is personified through the pronoun 'she' is evident in the phrasem 'has lost her wits.' This small stanza of this quotation reveals the consequences of such a cold night on nature and those who are expose to it. The fact that the moon has been chosen as a symbol of this suffering is poignant as the moon is exposed to all the elements, making the reader think of those who are exposed unnaturally. The short, single line, monosyllabic sentence, 'A star falls,' shows yet another consequence of the freezing cold for those exposed to it:death. A star, although we know they can die eventually, seems to earthly beings something out of reach of the shivering realities of weather and freezing temperatures, yet in this poem it is affected too. It summarises the representation of the cold in this poem as deadly and icy, creating a tone of shivering fear surrounding it.
Interestingly, the warmth for the farmers is not a comfort in contrast to the harshness of the cold, the way the other examples of warmth have represented protection and home throughout this poem. The adjective, 'sweating' and the fact they 'turn in their sleep,' gives a mood of restlessness rather than comfort and the simile, 'Like oxen on spits,' again shows these farmers as almost roasting under the heat and pressure of hoping their livestock will survive the cold night, whilst they are in the warmth of their homes. Perhaps this quotation reveals the responsibility towards those in the cold when we have warmth, or perhaps it reveals that warmth can come from many other sources other than just heat, such as kindness, family and being home.
The moon shrank, like a punctured airship,
Shrank, shrank, smaller, smaller,
Till it was nothing
But a silk handkerchief, torn,
And wet as tears.
The person picked it up. He walked on
Into moonless night
Carrying his strange trophy.
This part of the poem poignantly reflects on the aftermath of a person's attacking of the moon as it approaches them. This quotation shows the effects for the moon itself, for example, through the simile, 'The moon shrank, like a punctured airship.' This gives a vivid picture of the deflating nature with which the moon seems to die or at least subside to the cruelty of this man. The sibilance in 'shrank, shrank, smaller, smaller,' as well as the repetition of each word once respectively lets the reader know that the process is gradual, and somehow makes it more painful, as the moon loses its power and what is holding it together or up, as an 'airship' would do. It turns into, 'a silk handkerchief,' which is 'torn / And wet as tears,' a simile describing the silk as saturated water as a tear itself is liquid, rather than saying it is saturated with actual tears. The poignancy of this phrase creates a tone of even deeper pain and suffering on the moon's part, as it loses its identity and becomes a 'strange trophy,' for this 'person.' The 'moonless night,' is also a symbol of a loss of characteristics, whether physical or otherwise, as the darkness of night finds its 'full burning moon,' missing.
Who owns those scrawny little feet? Death.
Who owns this bristly scorched-looking face? Death.
Who owns these still-working lungs? Death.
Who owns this utility coat of muscles? Death.
Who owns these unspeakable guts? Death.
Who owns these questionable brains? Death.
All this messy blood? Death.
These minimum-efficiency eyes? Death.
This wicked little tongue? Death.
This occasional wakefulness? Death.
Right from the beginning of this poem, Hughes sets a questioning tone and a gloomy mood, by using a series of rhetorical quetions and the repetition of the monosyllabic abstract noun, 'Death.' In order to fully understand this quotation, it must be taken in the light of the title, 'Examination at the Womb-Door.' This title may bring thoughts of life, of childbirth, of pergnancy, but surely death is not the expected subject of this poem after reading the title. This perhaps makes the subject of death more poignant, or at least more heartbreaking, as well as real, as death is being substituted for the subject of life normally associated with birth and the womb. In describing each body part, perhaps of new-born or soon-to-be born baby, for example, 'those scrawny little feet,' as well as more intriguing descritions, for example the metaphor, 'this utility coat of muscles,' or 'these questionable brains,' the adjective 'questionable,' creating a stranger tone than perhaps the expected adjective, 'questioning,' the reader sees different aspects of life as simple parts. The repetition of 'Death,' seems a blunt reminder of the fact that life can be fleeting and unknown, ending at any point, however, it is interesting that within this first stanza there is no mention of God's power over death initially, which is strange considering the content of some of Hughes' other poems, like 'The Grandeur of God.'
We sit late, watching the dark slowly unfold:
No clock counts this.
When kisses are repeated and the arms hold
There is no telling where time is.
It is midsummer: the leaves hang big and still:
Behind the eye of a star,
Under the silk of the wrist a sea, tell
Time is nowhere.
The alternate rhyme pattern of this quotation creates a gentle tone of romance and freedom to enjoy it. The thrd person, inclusive speaker in, 'we sit late,' shows a togetherness and a companionship, that is thriving in September, in 'midsummer,' and throughout time, as 'no clock counts this,' and 'there is no telling where time is.' Both these phrases are emphasised by alliteration which combined with the personification of the clock counting highlights the care-free mood of this first stanza, as the couple enjoy 'when kisses are repeated and the arms hold.'
The perception of being outside time metaphorically emphasises the theme of enjoying every individual moment whilst it lasts, instead of rushing through them all. As 'the leaves hang big and still,' we are reminded that Autumn will come, and the leaves will all, the seasons will chane and everyone will grow older and move on with their lives, and so this moment is special as it contrasts with the business and hurried nature of life. The phrase, 'behind the eye a star,' compliments the love felt between these people, as the glint in an eye can express happiness, joy and love. The phrase, 'Under the silk of the wrist a sea, tell / Time is nowhere,' again emphasises the special nature of this moment as it is passing, as no perception of time or proression is necessary in the enjoyment these two people are feeling together.
