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- 'Red in tooth and claw' is a reference to the sometimes violent natural world, in which predatory animals unsentimentally cover their teeth and claws with the blood of their prey as they kill and devour them.
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What does red in tooth and claw mean?
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What does'red in tooth and claw' mean?
The saying 'Red in tooth and claw' is a reference to the sometimes violent natural world, in which predatory animals cover their teeth and claws with the blood of their prey as they kill and devour them. It comes from Tennyson's poem In Memoriam A. H. H., 1850, and has been used by Darwin and Dawkins to describe the survival of the fittest doctrine.
Jan 1, 2016 · A short analysis of Tennyson's poem 'Nature Red in Tooth and Claw', which reflects on the meaning and impact of the scientific discoveries of the day, such as the fossil record and the theory of evolution. The poem explores Tennyson's personal loss of his friend Arthur Hallam and his faith in Christianity. The poem uses the phrase 'red in tooth and claw' to describe the brutality and violence of nature and the futility of human life.
May 18, 2018 · Learn the origin and history of the phrase 'red in tooth and claw', which means characterised by savage violence or merciless competition, from the poem In Memoriam by Alfred Tennyson. Find out how the phrase was used in different contexts, such as literature, history, and public affairs, and how it relates to the nouns tooth and claw.
In Canto LVI, the poet queries Nature about the existential circumstance of Man on planet Earth: "Who trusted God was love indeed / And love Creation's final law — / Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw / With ravine, shriek'd against his creed — / Who loved, who suffer'd countless ills, / Who battled for the True, the Just, / Be blown about ...
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
- United Kingdom
- 1850
- English
Learn the meaning and origin of the phrase "red in tooth and claw", which describes competitive and cruel behaviour. See examples, synonyms and related idioms from various sources.
Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw With ravine, shriek'd against his creed — Who loved, who suffer'd countless ills, Who battled for the True, the Just, Be blown about the desert dust, Or seal'd within the iron hills? No more? A monster then, a dream, A discord. Dragons of the prime, That tare each other in their slime, Were mellow music ...
The phrase “red in tooth and claw” is an allusion to the poem “In Memoriam A. H. H.” (1849) by the nineteenth-century British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Chapter Seven. In this way the moons and the seasons passed. And then the locusts came. This is an allusion to the biblical story of the plague of locusts told in the Book of Exodus.
