BLM_Thistles_by_Ted_Through

Thistles by [|Ted Hughes]

Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men Thistles spike the summer air And crackle open under a blue-black pressure.

Every one a revengeful burst Of resurrection, a grasphed fistful Of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost thrust up

From the underground stain of a decayed Viking. They are like pale hair and the gutturals of dialects. Every one manages a plume of blood.

Then they grow grey like men. Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground.

Ted Hughes higher purpose in this poem is to get us to think more deeply about the way we use our rescources and treat nature. By comparing the thistles to warriors, defending their home, Hughes is speaking of the broader perspective of nature and how humankind is taking too much. The true struggle is not with a single bush but what remains of the wild and our natural rescources. By comparing simple thistles to warriors engaged in a batte for what belongs to them he creates a wilderness that commands our respect. This message is one we could apply to many things.

I think your idea that Hughes is using the poem as a broader statement about nature is interesting, though more textual evidence to support that idea would be good. I do think he's personifying the thistle plant, making their fairly brutal nature seem intentional.