Hedgehog

Paul Muldoon is a poet and a part of Lenoir Rhyne’s visiting writers series. His poem the Hedgehog is one of simplicity I think. The structure of the poem makes for a slow paced read with caesuras combining with the metaphor of the snail gives imagery to this slow paced-ness. Enjambement between stanzas and lines causes imagery also. The thought of the snail sharing a secret with hedgehog shows openness however I think Muldoon is playing with the idea that the hedgehog is very reserved and are very untrusting. This is why they don’t share anything and just curl up in a ball where nothing can touch them. I think the “crown of thorns” image alludes to christ and the metaphor that wearing thorns is an act of broken trust. I think this poem may be easier to interpret than I first thought because it all makes sense when its broken down with the mistrust and the line in the last stanza that “God will never trust this world”.

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