The jaws' hooked clamp and fangs
Not to be changed at this date;
A life subdued to its instrument;
These lines have been quoted from "Pike", a well-known poem composed by Ted Hughes, a famous poet of the post-modern age. These lines suggest the pike's killing nature, which it acquires genetically.
These lines occur in the fourth stanza of the poem "Pike". The facial shape of the pike is like that of "hooked clamp and fangs". This cannot be changed after centuries of evolution. The shape of the face of the pike-fish indicates its destructive nature. The hook-shaped jaws are symbols of killers' weapons. As the pike comes out of its mother's egg, it acquires this shape. It is a natural gift to this little creature. As it grows up, its jaws also grow up. The teeth become larger and the grin becomes visible. Nature teaches it to live on other fish, may be other fish of its own species. It is gifted with the life of a killer. It cannot change itself. Its life is subordinated to its killing nature because without killing other fish it cannot survive. The poet here refers to the cruelty of nature. Nature has in it both constructive and destructive forces. The pike represents the destructive forces. These lines refer to the fact that the violence and horror in the pike is a natural character, in fact, a natural truth.
