"Snowdrop," by the English poet Ted Hughes, is a short poem describing the effects of a harsh winter landscape on various creatures. A mouse, weasel, and crow all struggle against the cold and darkness, while a personified snowdrop flower seems to be the only match for winter's brutality. This is no delicate flower but a hardy bloom whose white petals the speaker deems "heavy as metal." As is typical of Hughes's work, the poem doesn't romanticize nature, nor does it contain an explicit lesson for humanity. Instead, it depicts the harsh reality of survival in an unforgiving natural world. The poem was published in Hughes's second collection, Lupercal, in 1960.
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The Full Text of “Snowdrop”
The Full Text of “Snowdrop”
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“Snowdrop” Summary
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“Snowdrop” Themes
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The Brutality of Nature and the Struggle to Survive
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-8
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Snowdrop”
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Lines 1-2
Now is the ...
... dulled wintering heart. -
Lines 3-5
Weasel and crow, ...
... their right minds, -
Line 6
With the other ... pursues her ends,
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Lines 7-8
Brutal as the ...
... heavy as metal.
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“Snowdrop” Symbols
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The Stars
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 7: “Brutal as the stars of this month,”
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“Snowdrop” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Now”
- Line 2: “Round,” “mouse’s”
- Line 3: “crow,” “moulded”
- Line 4: “Move through”
- Line 6: “deaths,” “too, pursues,” “ends”
- Line 8: “head heavy,” “metal”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 2: “mouse’s”
- Line 3: “moulded”
- Line 4: “Move”
- Line 5: “minds”
- Line 8: “Her,” “head heavy”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Weasel and crow, as if moulded in brass,”
- Line 7: “Brutal as the stars of this month,”
- Line 8: “Her pale head heavy as metal.”
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Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Lines 6-8: “She, too, pursues her ends, / Brutal as the stars of this month, / Her pale head heavy as metal.”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “tight / Round”
- Lines 4-5: “darkness / Not”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 3: “crow, as”
- Line 6: “deaths. She”
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“Snowdrop” 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.
- Snowdrop
- Wintering
- Moulded
- Right minds
- Pursues her ends
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(Location in poem: )
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Snowdrop”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Snowdrop” Speaker
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“Snowdrop” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Snowdrop”
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More “Snowdrop” Resources
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External Resources
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A Reading of the Poem — Listen to a recording of the poem read aloud.
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The Snowdrop Flower — Learn more about the flower that inspired this poem.
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British Library Archives for Ted Hughes — Peruse the British Library's archives on Hughes, which contain biographical information and additional resources (including writing about the influence of war and mythology on Hughes's work).
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An Introduction to the Poet's Life — Head over to the Poetry Foundation's website to read a brief biography of Hughes.
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A Documentary About Hughes's Life and Work — This BBC documentary investigates how Hughes's life shaped his poetry.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Ted Hughes
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