"The Pike" is a poem written by Edmund Blunden. It starts very peaceful and tranquil and progresses until it is extremely violent. The poem uses metaphors, alliteration and enjambemant to great effect.
"Gossamer music tires not to unloose.".
represents very thin, whispy music and is a very good example of a calming metaphor and it is just one of many throughout the poem.
The first verse is very relaxing and gives off a great sense of peace and harmony. In the background of all this though, there is a slight hint towards a darker, more sinister side to the poem.
"From shadows of oaks outpeer".
is the best example because the word "shadows" is the only word in the first verse which tells you that however subtle, there is a hint of evil in the beginning stanza. In the second verse, the darker aspect of the poem starts to develop more and more although the natural idyllic side of things is still strongest, the evil is a lot more evident.
It is in the third verse that the real darkness of the poem shows through. With lines such as "still as the dead" and "murderous patriarch", the third stanza is the pointing the poem where the poet changes the mood completely. It suddenly goes from the smooth, naturalistic beginning to a harsh brutal verse in which almost every line is evil.
Towards the forth verse, the mood changes again and the idyllic side of things makes an appearance again. It is a verse composed of equal parts good an evil. The first two lines are very gentle but the third and forth lines are very violent with phrases like "glutted tyrant" and "still as a sunken bough". .
The fifth verse is leaning once more to the peaceful, nice side of the poem with only one line "With stony gorgon eyes" representing evil. .
Then the last verse comes along and with lines such as "intense terror" and "in fury he lances" the entire stanza is brutally evil. For me this was one of the best bits in the poem and what I think made it so good was that the build up to the climax was leading up to this and when it came it was made better because you are expecting it but you don't know what to expect, if you know what I mean.
