1. Tractor by Ted Hughes

2. Tractor by Ted Hughes Homework Task
Who was Ted Hughes and apart from poetry, what else is he famous for?
Not more than 100 words, handwritten by 3:00pm Friday 30th September.

3. Tractor by Ted Hughes Starter
Write a short account about a time when a vehicle let you down (broke down, wouldn’t start, puncture etc.). Explain how you felt about that car when it wouldn't work and how you felt when it finally started or you got rescued.

4. Tractor by Ted Hughes Vocabulary:
The starting lever
Cracks its action, like a snapping knuckle.
The battery is alive - but like a lamb
Trying to nudge its solid-frozen mother­
While the seat claims my buttock-bones, bites
With the space-cold of earth, which it has joined
In one solid lump.
I squirt commercial sure-fire
Down the black throat - it just coughs.
It ridicules me - a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into. I drive the battery
As if I were hammering and hammering
The frozen arrangement to pieces with a hammer
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly
Into happy life.
The tractor stands frozen - an agony
To think of. All night
Snow packed its open entrails.
Now a head-pincering gale
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow,
Pours into its steel.
At white heat of numbness it stands
In the aimed hosing of ground-level fieriness.
It defies flesh and won't start.
Hands are like wounds already
Inside armour gloves, and feet are unbelievable
As if the toe-nails were all just torn off.
I stare at it in hatred. Beyond it
The copse hisses - capitulates miserably
In the fleeing, failing light. Starlings,
A dirtier sleetier snow, blow smokily, unendingly, over
Towards plantations Eastward.
All the time the tractor is sinking
Through the degrees, deepening
Into its hell of ice.
Enjambment – no punctuation to help with
Vocabulary:
Capitulate: surrender, give in, yield, admit defeat, give up.

5. Tractor by Ted Hughes Oral Task
Mini Task 1: In the group you have been allocated, practice reading out your section of the poem so you can read it to the class. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The starting lever
Cracks its action, like a snapping knuckle.
The battery is alive - but like a lamb
Trying to nudge its solid-frozen mother­
While the seat claims my buttock-bones, bites
With the space-cold of earth, which it has joined
In one solid lump.
I squirt commercial sure-fire
Down the black throat - it just coughs.
It ridicules me - a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into. I drive the battery
As if I were hammering and hammering
The frozen arrangement to pieces with a hammer
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly
Into happy life.
The tractor stands frozen - an agony
To think of. All night
Snow packed its open entrails.
Now a head-pincering gale
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow,
Pours into its steel.
At white heat of numbness it stands
In the aimed hosing of ground-level fieriness.
It defies flesh and won't start.
Hands are like wounds already
Inside armour gloves, and feet are unbelievable
As if the toe-nails were all just torn off.
I stare at it in hatred. Beyond it
The copse hisses - capitulates miserably
In the fleeing, failing light. Starlings,
A dirtier sleetier snow, blow smokily, unendingly, over
Towards plantations Eastward.
All the time the tractor is sinking
Through the degrees, deepening
Into its hell of ice.
Enjambment – no punctuation to help with
Mini Task 1a: Why has the poem been split up this way?

6. Tractor by Ted Hughes Oral Task
Mini Task 1a: Why has the poem been split up this way?
The poem has been broken up to allow the sense to continue where enjambment occurs. It also helps the ‘prose like’ feel of the poem so that the text reads more like a story than a poem.

7. Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 1 of the poem.
Tractor by Ted Hughes
The Story Of The Poem
Mini Task 2a
Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 1 of the poem.
Stanza 1
The tractor stands frozen - an agony
To think of. All night
Snow packed its open entrails.
Now a head-pincering gale
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow,
Pours into its steel.
At white heat of numbness it stands
In the aimed hosing of ground-level fieriness.
A tractor has been left standing out in a field overnight and during the night it began to snow.The tractor is covered in snow and snow has also become packed into its engine. The tractor has become stuck in the freezing mud and snow. Because of the cold the farmer is finding it impossible to get the engine started.

8. Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 2 of the poem.
Tractor by Ted Hughes
The Story Of The Poem
Mini Task 2
Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 2 of the poem.
Stanza 2
It defies flesh and won't start.
Hands are like wounds already
Inside armour gloves, and feet are unbelievable
As if the toe-nails were all just torn off.
I stare at it in hatred. Beyond it
The copse hisses - capitulates miserably
In the fleeing, failing light. Starlings,
A dirtier sleetier snow, blow smokily, unendingly, over
Towards plantations Eastward.
All the time the tractor is sinking
Through the degrees, deepening
Into its hell of ice.
Because it is so cold the farmer is finding it impossible to get the engine started and the cold is starting to affect him physically, freezing his hands and feet. As the drifting snow builds up around the tractor it almost looks like the tractor is sinking into the snow.

9. Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 3 of the poem.
Tractor by Ted Hughes
The Story Of The Poem
Mini Task 2c
Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 3 of the poem.
Stanza 3
The starting lever
Cracks its action, like a snapping knuckle.
The battery is alive - but like a lamb
Trying to nudge its solid-frozen mother­
While the seat claims my buttock-bones, bites
With the space-cold of earth, which it has joined
In one solid lump.
The cold has also made the battery too weak to turn the engine over and so start it. And the cold is so intense that the farmer feels like his bottom has become frozen to the metal tractor seat.

10. Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 4 of the poem.
Tractor by Ted Hughes
The Story Of The Poem
Mini Task 2d
Copy down/make notes on what has happened in Stanza 4 of the poem.
Stanza 4
I squirt commercial sure-fire
Down the black throat - it just coughs.
It ridicules me - a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into. I drive the battery
As if I were hammering and hammering
The frozen arrangement to pieces with a hammer
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly
Into happy life.
The farmer squirts some ’cold-start’ fluid into the engine and driving the battery as hard as he can, he does eventually manage to get the engine started.

11. Tractor by Ted Hughes The Story Of The Poem Mini Task 3
Now in you own words write ‘the story of the poem’.

12. Tractor by Ted Hughes The Story Of The Poem
A tractor has been left standing out in a field overnight. During the night it started snowing and the tractor has become stuck in the freezing mud and snow. It is so cold that the farmer is finding it impossible to get the engine started. The farmer feels as if the tractor has taken on a life of its own and has decided to refuse to start just to annoy him. Eventually he does manage to get it started.

13. Tractor by Ted Hughes Genre Mini Task 3
What is the Genre of this poem?

14. Tractor by Ted Hughes Genre Mini Task 3
What is the Genre of this poem?
Because the poem has no formal rhyme scheme it is written in Free Verse.
Toolbox Term:
Free Verse: A poem that has no formal or regular rhyme scheme.

15. Genre & The Structure Of The Poem
Tractor by Ted Hughes
Genre & The Structure Of The Poem
Mini Task 4a
How is the poem is structured?

16. Genre & The Structure Of The Poem
Tractor by Ted Hughes
Genre & The Structure Of The Poem
Mini Task 4a
How is the poem structured?
The poem is composed of four unequal stanzas of 8,12, 7 & 8 lines. The line length is also uneven. There are a few lines that rhyme, but they appear randomly and cannot be considered frequent or regular enough to describe the poem as having a rhyme scheme:

17. Tractor by Ted Hughes Rhymes Mini Task 4b
On your copy of the poem underline/highlight the lines that rhyme.

18. Tractor by Ted Hughes Rhymes Mini Task 4b
On your copy of the poem identify the lines that rhyme.
Stanza 1
Snow packed its open entrails.
Now a head-pincering gale
Stanza 4
It ridicules me - a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into. I drive the battery
As if I were hammering and hammering
The frozen arrangement to pieces with a hammer
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly
Because of this, the poem reads more like prose than a poem.

19. Tractor by Ted Hughes Key Feature
The next few slides deal with the the poem’s Key Features
Mini Task 5
Apart from imagery, what is the main Key Feature of the poem?

20. Tractor by Ted Hughes Key Feature
Mini Task 5
Apart from imagery, what is the main Key Feature of the poem?
The key feature of this poem is PERSONIFICATION.
Toolbox Term - Personification:
Where an inanimate object, machine or animal is describe in human
terms .
Mini Task 6a
There are many example of Personification in this poem. On your copy of the poem underline or highlight ONE example from each stanza.

21. Tractor by Ted Hughes Personification Mini Task 6a Stanza 1:
∙ The tractor stands frozen.
Snow packed its open entrails.
At white heat of numbness it stands
Stanza 2:
It defies flesh and won't start.
Into its hell of ice.
Stanza 3:
…like a snapping knuckle.
The battery is alive
While the seat claims my buttock-bones,
Stanza 4:
Down the black throat - it just coughs.
It ridicules me ….
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly
Into happy life.

22. Tractor by Ted Hughes Personification Mini Task 6b
What is the effect of the personification in the poem?
Mini Task 6b
What is the effect of the personification in the poem?

23. Tractor by Ted Hughes Personification Mini Task 6b
What is the effect of the personification in the poem?
The effect of the personification is to make the tractor seem ‘human’ and to have a mind of its own which seems determined to defy and injure the farmer.

24. Tractor by Ted Hughes Oxymoron
Another interesting feature of this poem is the use of Oxymoron to suggest how cold it really is.
Toolbox Term
An Oxymoron is where two words used together have, or seem to have, opposite meanings.
Mini Task 7
Underline one example of an oxymoron in the poem.

25. Other Features - Oxymoron
Tractor by Ted Hughes
Other Features - Oxymoron
Mini Task 7
Underline one example of an oxymoron in the poem.
In this poem Ted Hughes uses heat in an unusual way to describe how very cold it is.
Stanza 1
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow,
At white heat of numbness it stands
Stanza 2
Into its hell of ice

26. Tractor by Ted Hughes Enjambment
As we discovered in the oral task, another major feature of the poem is ENJAMBMENT which occurs frequently.
MINI TASK 8
On your copy of Stanza 3 of the the poem put an arrow  to mark where you think the Enjambment is in this stanza.
I squirt commercial sure-fire
Down the black throat - it just coughs.
It ridicules me - a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into. I drive the battery
As if I were hammering and hammering
The frozen arrangement to pieces with a hammer
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly
Into happy life.

27. Tractor by Ted Hughes Enjambment MINI TASK 8
On your copy of the poem put an arrow  to mark where you think the Enjambment is in the final stanza.
I squirt commercial sure-fire 
Down the black throat - it just coughs.
It ridicules me - a trap of iron stupidity 
I've stepped into. I drive the battery 
As if I were hammering and hammering 
The frozen arrangement to pieces with a hammer
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly 
Into happy life.

28. Tractor by Ted Hughes Enjambment MINI TASK 8
On your copy of the poem put an arrow  to mark where you think the Enjambment is in the final stanza.
I squirt commercial sure-fire 
Down the black throat - it just coughs.
It ridicules me - a trap of iron stupidity 
I've stepped into. I drive the battery 
As if I were hammering and hammering 
The frozen arrangement to pieces with a hammer
And it jabbers laughing pain-crying mockingly 
Into happy life.
Mini Task 8a
What is the effect of enjambment in the poem?

29. Tractor by Ted Hughes Enjambment Mini Task 8a
What is the effect of enjambment in the poem?
The enjambment helps make the poem seem more like a prose story than a poem by allowing the sense of the poem to flow from one line to another.

30. Tractor by Ted Hughes Onomatopoeia
There is in this poem one example of Onomatopoeia.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words which sound similar to the noises that the words refer to Ex. ‘Pop’ or ‘Boom.’
Mini Task 9
Write down the one one example of Onomatopoeia in this poem .

31. Tractor by Ted Hughes Onomatopoeia
There is in this poem one example of Onomatopoeia.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words which sound similar to the noises that the words refer to Ex. ‘Pop’ or ‘Boom.’
Mini Task 9
Underline the one one example of Onomatopoeia in this poem .
In TRACTOR L13 ‘hisses.’

32. Tractor by Ted Hughes Alliteration
There are also several examples of Alliteration in the poem. This is the first example from Stanza 1.
The tractor stands frozen - an agony
To think of. All night
MINI TASK 10
On your copy of the poem underline or highlight one more example of Alliteration from each stanza.

33. Tractor by Ted Hughes Alliteration MINI TASK 10
On your copy of the poem underline or highlight one more example of Alliteration from each stanza
These are the other examples of Alliteration in the poem:
Stanza 1
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow
Stanza 2
In the fleeing, failing light.
A dirtier sleetier snow, blow smokily,
All the time the tractor is sinking 
Through the degrees, deepening
Stanza 3
… but like a lamb
While the seat claims my buttock-bones, bites
Stanza 4
a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow
In the fleeing, failing light.
A dirtier sleetier snow, blow smokily,
All the time the tractor is sinking
Through the degrees, deepening
… but like a lamb
While the seat claims my buttock-bones, bites
a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into
Mini Task 10a
What is the effect of the alliteration in the poem??

34. Tractor by Ted Hughes Alliteration MINI TASK 10
On your copy of the poem underline or highlight where you think the other examples of Alliteration are.
These are the other examples of Alliteration in the poem:
Stanza 1
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow
Stnza 2
In the fleeing, failing light.
A dirtier sleetier snow, blow smokily,
All the time the tractor is sinking 
Through the degrees, deepening
Stanza 3
… but like a lamb
While the seat claims my buttock-bones, bites
Stanza 4
a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow
In the fleeing, failing light.
A dirtier sleetier snow, blow smokily,
All the time the tractor is sinking
Through the degrees, deepening
… but like a lamb
While the seat claims my buttock-bones, bites
a trap of iron stupidity
I've stepped into
Mini Task 10a
What is the effect of the alliteration in the poem?
It helps add rhythm to the poem.?

35. Tractor by Ted Hughes
Imagery
The poem also relies heavily on Imagery to create its effects and the use of personification helps to enhance the imagery in the poem.
Ex. The pipes of the engine are described as ‘entrails’ the ‘plumbing’
of the human body.

36. From Tractor by Ted Hughes - Imagery
MINI TASK 11
Look at Stanza 1. Apart from ‘entrails’, what other images are created by poet in Stanza 1?
The tractor stands frozen - an agony
To think of. All night
Snow packed its open entrails.
Now a head-pincering gale
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow,
Pours into its steel.
At white heat of numbness it stands
In the aimed hosing of ground-level fieriness.

37. Tractor by Ted Hughes Imagery MINI TASK 11
Look at Stanza 1. Apart from ‘entrails’, what other images are created by poet in Stanza 1?
The tractor stands frozen - an agony  The tractor frozen in the snow.
To think of. All night
Snow packed its open entrails.  The engine packed full of snow
Now a head-pincering gale  A strong, ice cold wind
A spill of molten ice, smoking snow,
Pours into its steel.  Snow and ice being blown into the engine
At white heat of numbness it stands
In the aimed hosing of ground-level fieriness.  A freezing wind whipping the snow along the ground towards the farmer.

38. Tractor by Ted Hughes Imagery MINI TASK 12
Now look at the rest of the poem and select what you think is one powerful, unusual or striking image from each stanza.
Explain why you selected these images.

39. Tractor by Ted Hughes Imagery -MINI TASK 12
Now look at the rest of the poem and select one powerful, unusual
or striking image from each stanza.
Explain why you selected these images.
For me these are:
Stanza 2: All the time the tractor is sinking
Through the degrees
Because the tractor is not ‘sinking’, but the snow is building up
around it.
Stanza 3: The battery is alive - but like a lamb
Trying to nudge its solid-frozen mother
I find the image of the new-born lamb trying to wake up its frozen, dead mother very graphic and very powerful.
Stanza 4: I drive the battery
As if I were hammering and hammering
I like the way the poet conveys the farmer’s frustration in
these lines.

40. Tractor by Ted Hughes Mini Task 13
Tone
Mini Task 13
How would you describe the tone and the change of tone in the poem?

41. Tractor by Ted Hughes Mini Task 13
Tone
Mini Task 13
How would you describe the tone and the change of tone in the poem?
The tone of the poem in Stanza 1-3 is serious and turns to anger in Stanza 4 when the farmer is ‘hammering’ the engine to get it started. But then the tone changes to joy at the end of the poem when the farmer manages to get the tractor going.

42. Tractor by Ted Hughes Mini Task 14
Personal Response
Mini Task 14
Identify your favourite section of the poem and in words explain why this is your favourite section.

43. Tractor by Ted Hughes
Assignment
How does the use of Personification and Imagery in Tractor help to convey meaning in the poem?
words in MLA format ed to Mr Tim by midnight Friday 7th October.

44. Tractor by Ted Hughes
Homework
Who was Ted Hughes and apart from poetry, what else is he famous for?
Ted Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation, and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He served as Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.
Hughes also wrote stories, plays, reviews and essays. He translated the work of, amongst others, Ovid, Racine, Aeschylus and Euripides. He wrote extensively for children, including the story The Iron Man, which was turned into the Disney blockbuster The Iron Giant. Hughes's interests in other art forms led to many collaborations with other artists, most famously with the American sculptor and illustrator, Leonard Baskin.
He is also sadly famous for being married to the internationally respected poet Sylvia Plath, who killed herself in 1963 after she discovered Hughes had been unfaithful to her. Ironically the lady at the centre of this affair also killed herself (and their 4 year old daughter) in 1969.