"Telegraph Wires" was published in Ted Hughes's 1989 collection Wolfwatching. The poem examines the complex relationship between humankind and technology. On the one hand, the speaker seems to consider telegraph wires a technological marvel, capable of connecting towns across vast, unwelcoming areas of land. At the same time, the poem implies that human technology is fleeting, fragile, and even insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe.
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The Full Text of “Telegraph Wires”
The Full Text of “Telegraph Wires”
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“Telegraph Wires” Summary
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“Telegraph Wires” Themes
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Humanity's Relationship with Technology
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-12
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Telegraph Wires”
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Lines 1-2
Take telegraph wires, ...
... in your ear. -
Lines 3-4
Towns whisper to ...
... the bad weather. -
Lines 5-8
So oddly, so ...
... hears, and withers! -
Lines 9-12
In the revolving ...
... empty human bones.
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“Telegraph Wires” Symbols
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The Telegraph Wires
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4: “Take telegraph wires, a lonely moor, / And fit them together. The thing comes alive in your ear. / Towns whisper to towns over the heather. / But the wires cannot hide from the bad weather. ”
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“Telegraph Wires” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Take telegraph”
- Line 3: “Towns,” “to towns”
- Line 6: “picked,” “played”
- Line 9: “ballroom”
- Line 10: “Bowed,” “bright”
- Line 11: “telegraph,” “tones”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “wires, a”
- Line 2: “together. The”
- Line 5: “oddly, so”
- Line 8: “hears, and”
- Line 10: “moor, a”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Take telegraph”
- Line 3: “Towns,” “to towns”
- Line 5: “oddly,” “daintily made”
- Line 6: “picked up,” “played”
- Line 7: “unearthly airs ”
- Line 8: “ear hears,” “withers”
- Line 9: “revolving ballroom”
- Line 10: “Bowed,” “bright”
- Line 11: “telegraph,” “tones”
- Line 12: “empty human bones”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 5-6: “made / It”
- Lines 7-8: “airs / The”
- Lines 9-10: “space / Bowed”
- Lines 10-11: “face / Draws”
- Lines 11-12: “tones / That”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 1
- Line 2
- Line 3
- Line 4
- Line 6
- Line 7
- Line 8
- Lines 9-12
- Line 9
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Metonymy
Where metonymy appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Towns whisper to towns”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Towns,” “towns”
- Line 5: “So,” “so”
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Synecdoche
Where synecdoche appears in the poem:- Lines 7-8: “Such unearthly airs / The ear hears, and withers! ”
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“Telegraph Wires” 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.
- Telegraph wires
- Moor
- Heather
- Daintily
- Airs
- Unearthly
- Withers
- Ballroom
- Tones
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(Location in poem: Line 1: “Take telegraph wires,”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Telegraph Wires”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Telegraph Wires” Speaker
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“Telegraph Wires” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Telegraph Wires”
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More “Telegraph Wires” Resources
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External Resources
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Ted Hughes and the Moors — View pages from Hughes's book of poetry published in collaboration with photographer Fay Godwin, featuring Godwin's photographs of the Yorkshire landscape.
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Five Views of Ted Hughes — Listen to a series of short radio documentaries exploring different aspects of Hughes's life and work.
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Hughes's Influence — Watch contemporary poet Alice Oswald discussing Ted Hughes's work.
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Ted Hughes on Film — Watch a documentary about the poet.
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Telecommunications — A short history of the telephone (and telegraph).
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Ted Hughes
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