The Full Text of “Roe-Deer”
The Full Text of “Roe-Deer”
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“Roe-Deer” Introduction
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“Roe-Deer” Summary
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“Roe-Deer” Themes
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The Mystery of Nature
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-21
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Roe-Deer”
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Lines 1-4
In the dawn-dirty ...
... arriving just there. -
Lines 5-8
They planted their ...
... stared at me. -
Lines 8-13
And for some ...
... come for me. -
Lines 14-18
Then they ducked ...
... of big flakes. -
Lines 19-21
The snow took ...
... to the ordinary
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“Roe-Deer” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “In the dawn-dirty light, in the biggest snow of the year / Two blue-dark deer stood in the road, alerted.”
- Lines 14-18: “Then they ducked through the hedge, and upright they rode their legs / Away downhill over a snow-lonely field / Towards tree dark—finally / Seeming to eddy and glide and fly away up / Into the boil of big flakes.”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 6: “my snow-screen vision of the abnormal”
- Line 7: “the all-way disintegration”
- Line 11: “the curtain had blown aside for a moment”
- Line 18: “the boil of big flakes.”
- Lines 19-21: “The snow took them and soon their nearby hoofprints as well / Revising its dawn inspiration / Back to the ordinary”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “In the,” “in the”
- Line 3: “They”
- Line 5: “They”
- Line 7: “And hesitated”
- Line 8: “And stared,” “And”
- Line 9: “the deer were waiting for me”
- Line 12: “the trees were no longer trees, nor the road a road”
- Line 13: “The deer had come for me.”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 3-4: “dimension / The”
- Lines 5-6: “deerhood / Clear”
- Lines 8-9: “seconds / I”
- Lines 9-10: “me / To”
- Lines 14-15: “legs / Away”
- Lines 15-16: “field / Towards”
- Lines 16-17: “finally / Seeming”
- Lines 17-18: “up / Into”
- Lines 20-21: “inspiration / Back”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “light, in”
- Line 2: “road, alerted”
- Line 8: “me. And”
- Line 12: “trees, nor”
- Line 14: “hedge, and”
- Line 16: “dark—finally”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “snow,” “year”
- Line 2: “Two blue,” “deer,” “road,” “alerted”
- Line 4: “I,” “arriving”
- Line 5: “three,” “years,” “secret deerhood”
- Line 6: “Clear,” “screen”
- Line 7: “hesitated,” “way,” “disintegration”
- Line 9: “deer,” “me”
- Line 12: “there where”
- Line 13: “deer,” “me”
- Line 14: “ducked,” “upright”
- Line 15: “over,” “snow-lonely”
- Line 16: “tree”
- Line 17: “Seeming,” “glide,” “fly”
- Line 19: “soon,” “hoofprints”
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Sibilance
Where sibilance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “biggest snow”
- Line 2: “stood”
- Line 5: “secret”
- Line 6: “snow-screen”
- Line 7: “hesitated,” “disintegration”
- Line 8: “stared,” “some lasting seconds”
- Line 10: “password,” “sign”
- Line 19: “snow,” “soon”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 1: “dawn-dirty,” “biggest”
- Line 2: “blue,” “dark deer”
- Line 3: “had happened”
- Line 5: “secret”
- Line 6: “snow-screen”
- Line 8: “stared,” “seconds”
- Line 9: “were waiting”
- Line 13: “deer”
- Line 14: “ducked”
- Line 16: “finally”
- Line 17: “fly”
- Line 18: “boil,” “big”
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“Roe-Deer” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Roe-Deer
- Dawn-dirty light
- My snow-screen vision
- The all-way disintegration
- Eddy
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(Location in poem: )
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Roe-Deer”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Roe-Deer” Speaker
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“Roe-Deer” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Roe-Deer”
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More “Roe-Deer” Resources
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External Resources
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The Ted Hughes Society — Visit the Ted Hughes Society's website to learn more about Hughes's continuing influence.
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Hughes's Legacy — Read an article by poet Alice Oswald in which she discusses what Hughes means to her.
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A Brief Biography — Learn more about Hughes's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.
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An Interview with Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath — Listen to a 1961 interview with Hughes and his wife, fellow poet Sylvia Plath.
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An Appreciation of Hughes — Watch a talk celebrating Hughes's poetry, including clips of Hughes himself reading his poetry aloud.
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What Are Roe Deer? — Learn more about the small species of deer featured in this poem.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Ted Hughes
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