"Lovesong" by Ted Hughes (Annotation)

Lovesong He loved her and she loved him. His kisses sucked out her whole past and future or tried to He had no other appetite She bit him she gnawed him she sucked She wanted him complete inside her Safe and sure forever and ever Their little cries fluttered into the curtains Her eyes wanted nothing to get away Her looks nailed down his hands his wrists his elbows He gripped her hard so that life Should not drag her from that moment He wanted all future to cease He wanted to topple with his arms round her Off that moment's brink and into nothing Or everlasting or whatever there was Her embrace was an immense press To print him into her bones His smiles were the garrets of a fairy palace Where the real world would never come Her smiles were spider bites So he would lie still till she felt hungry His words were occupying armies Her laughs were an assassin's attempts His looks were bullets daggers of revenge His glances were ghosts in the corner with horrible secrets His whispers were whips and jackboots Her kisses were lawyers steadily writing His caresses were the last hooks of a castaway Her love-tricks were the grinding of locks And their deep cries crawled over the floors Like an animal dragging a great trap His promises were the surgeon's gag Her promises took the top off his skull She would get a brooch made of it His vows pulled out all her sinews He showed her how to make a love-knot Her vows put his eyes in formalin At the back of her secret drawer Their screams stuck in the wall Their heads fell apart into sleep like the two halves Of a lopped melon, but love is hard to stop In their entwined sleep they exchanged arms and legs In their dreams their brains took each other hostage In the morning they wore each other's face Ted Hughes

I am going to discuss the theme of anger throughout "Lovesong" by Ted Hughes.  As I researched this poem, many of the analysis' were speaking about this poem as being a romantic love poem that showed what love should be like in an act of intimacy.  I am going to talk about the dysfunction of this relationship and point out bitterness and anger that is found throughout the poem.

According to Merriam Webster's online dictionary, anger means "a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism," (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anger).  Some connotations of anger are: to inflame, to enrage, to provoke, a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance, (http://ardictionary.com/Anger/5947).

"Lovesong" is about the intimacy between a man and a woman.  The poem is about sex, but there is a lot more going on than just an exchange of love.  The whole poem is intense in it's description of their emotions and feelings.  It is not sweet to say the least.  Anger, bitterness, and envy are clearly evident to me in this poem.

In the first stanza, the two are kissing intensely, but discontentment (anger) is shown by the use of words/phrases such as "kisses sucked out her whole past and future or tried to," "she bit him," "wanted him complete inside her," "their little cries."  The way they were acting towards each other wasn't gentle or soft, but out of rage and anxiety to gain something and long after something they did not seem to have.

In the second stanza, Hughes adds a phrase "He wanted all future to cease."  The boy in the poem was so passionate and desperate to stay in this pleasure and not face reality.  He wanted to stay in this high emotion with this girl because he was angry and did not like his life.  "Off that moment's brink and into nothing Or everlasting or what there was."  This boy in the poem had no hope. All he liked was this quick pleasure right in front of him. He must have been angry.

In the third stanza, "His smiles were the garrets of a fairy palace Where the real world would never come."  The girl was caught up in the enjoyment, but was realizing that this pleasure would not last.  She was angry with life.  "Her smiles were spider bites So he would lie still till she felt hungry."  This does not sound like a romantic relationship, rather, they are using each other because they are empty, hurt, and angry.  The rest of the stanza gives more descriptive phrases of intensity and anger.  Anger for these two is found in the action of intense pleasure.

"Their heads fell apart into sleep like the two halves Of a lopped melon, but love is hard to stop."
What a description of someone in love...  "Two halves of a lopped melon."  This shows the dysfunction.  They are addicted to each other.  They are using each other for pleasure because they have anger in their lives.  They are taking out their anger in a way that is gross and selfish.

"In their entwined sleep they exchanged arms and legs In their dreams their brains took each other hostage."

"In the morning they wore each other's face"

Even though Ted Hughes makes no mention that this relationship is dysfunctional or admits that they are using pleasure as a means to let out anger, it is read in between the lines that this is the case.    I think that Hughes wanted the reader to come to the conclusion that this relationship is not healthy and wanted to reader to figure out why.  This why would lead to an anger and discontentment with life.

. "Anger." Accurate & Reliable Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2012. <http://ardictionary.com/Anger/5947>.


. "Anger." Merriam-Webster. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anger>.