The Harvest Moon Notes

Ted Hughes presents ‘The Harvest Moon’ as awesome and mysterious. The power
of nature is conveyed by the use of rich imagery, as the moon’s strange beauty is
brought to life. In this poem, the very words of the title, 'The Harvest Moon,' are
repeated throughout the poem, along with many words which internally rhyme
with 'moon,' such as 'doubloon,' and 'bassoon.' This creates a focus on the moon
itself as the subject of the poem. Its appearance around harvest time symbolises
prosperity and fertility of the land, as the harvest will soon be gathered. The free,
natural spectacle strikes an awe in the people, but also has a religious reminder
attached, being a reminder of the harvest and the blessing and provision of God.

‘The Harvest Moon’ by Ted Hughes consists of four stanzas. The first stanza
contains eight lines. Whereas, the following two stanzas contain four lines each.
And the last stanza has only three lines in it. The first stanza is comparably long as
it gives focus to the moon. the poet doesn’t use a specific rhyme scheme in the
poem. But, there are some instances of rhyming in the poem. As an example,
“moon”, “balloon”, “doubloon”, and “bassoon” rhyme together. Whereas,
“come” and “drum” also rhyme in the first stanza. In the second stanza, the first
two lines only rhyme collectively

Firstly, Hughes uses the adjective ‘flame-red’ to describe the moon’s unusual
colour. By using adjectives more commonly associated with the sun, Hughes
challenges the reader’s perceptions of the moon, creating a mysterious tone. This
unexpected sense of heat is developed later in the poem where it is described as
‘as if red-hot’ in the third stanza and the streams of the last line are ‘melting.’
Perhaps Hughes is suggesting the energy and power of the world at harvest time.

He uses personification for capturing the moon’s movement in the sky with words
like ‘Rolls along the hills’ and ‘To lie on the bottom of the sky.’ The movement of
the moon throughout the sky appears to the poet like a vast balloon is moving
across the sky. Oxymorons such as ‘sink upward’ add to this fantastical feeling, as
the moon appears both light and heavy at the same time. Finally, it ‘lies on the
bottom of the sky’, a beautiful mystery that cannot be explained. The moon is also
presented as rich and precious in the simile ‘like a gold doubloon’. During this
time, the color of the moon resembles that of a “gold doubloon”, a Spanish gold
coin. The rich golden color of the poem strikes the poet the most as the reference
contains the value associated with it. This currency of pirates buried treasure is
the stuff of fairy tales and maybe suggests a magical moment is occurring in the
sky.

Apart from that, in the last three lines, the poet creates a celebratory mood in the
poem as the appearance of the harvest moon brings luck for the farmers.
Moreover, the poet uses two sound images of the “bassoon” and the “drum” in
this section for referring to the celebration of farmers. The musical similes work
to give the harvest moon a sound of its own, which again is a beautiful
impossibility. The moon is ‘booming . . . like a bassoon’ which again reflects its
deep heaviness. The gentle rhyming of these alliterative words strengthens the
image further. It is blossoming in the sky with a soft musical sound while the
people on earth are replying to its soft musical sound with the beating of the
drums.

Hughes uses religious imagery to emphasise the moon’s impact on not only the
countryside but also the people. There is a pious sensation in their hearts as they
look at the red harvest moon. It appears as if they are visualizing a manifestation
of God. Trees are personified as keeping ‘a kneeling vigil’ and people ‘can’t sleep’.
The people sit under the elms and oak trees and keep a watch on it. The phrase
“kneeling vigil” contains a personal metaphor. The trees appear to the poet as
kneeling and praying to the moon while keeping a fixed watch at its glorious
look.The mood is one of Christmas Eve excitement, full of joy and anticipation.
Hughes adds to the festive atmosphere with the use of an exclamation mark to
conclude this stanza, emphasising the joy and relief felt at the moon’s arrival.

In the third stanza of ‘The Harvest Moon’, Ted Hughes captures the reaction of
other creatures apart from men. Here, the poet refers to images of cows and
sheep that are normally associated with the farmers. The “moonlit cows” and
sheep stare up at that red moon in the sky. Being accustomedu with the white
moon, the color of the harvest moon makes them petrified.
After that, the poet describes how the moon grows in size and fills the sky with its
light. The idea of a more literal pregnancy is suggested in the fourth stanza as the
moon ‘swells/filling heaven’. The use of enjambment allows the idea to spill from
the end of one line into the next: it is as if this symbol of fertility cannot be
contained, such is its vast size. The poet uses a simile and compares the
moonlight to the radiance of hot iron. Apart from that, the sky appears as an
ocean where the moon is sailing. Moreover, the growing size of the moon seems
to the poet as if it is “the end of the world”. The use of hyperbole in this line
refers to the hypnotic state of the poet after seeing the harvest moon, which is in
keeping with the moon’s mesmerising effect; it is as if the moon’s beauty can
entrance the reader.

In the final stanza, Ted Hughes presents the image of a field filled with ripe wheat
and captures the river’s movement that is coming down from the hills. At first, the
wheat field represents the idea with which the moon is closely associated with. It
is the harvest season, a joyous time for the farmers. But, the use of the word
“reap” and “sweat” in this section creates a paradoxical mood. The metaphorical
use of “sweat” to refer to melting ice is interesting. The fields of wheat are crying
to be cut off while the rivers are being filled from the sweating of the snowy hills.
It appears as if the harvest moon is a formidable and mighty creature and the
whole creation is afraid of it.

The fact that the final stanza is the shortest suggests, perhaps, that nature is
powerless in the face of such beauty and that it has surrendered to the moon’s
wonder. The overall effect of the poem is of the skies and earth working in
harmony to produce a successful harvest. The earth, personified, ‘replies’ to the
moon’s call and in the last stanza the wheat demands to be reaped. The ‘gold
fields’ of the final stanza echo the ‘gold doubloon’ of the first, linking the heaven
and earth through repetition. To sum up, Hughes presents the moon as a natural
wonder, casting a spell on the awe-struck earth.