'The Horses' by Ted Hughes.

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‘The Horses’ by Ted Hughes – Homework

        

        I think that the central idea / theme in the poem is mainly the peace and silence of the setting and the surrounding area, and this is evident from the emphasis the poet has put on this.          For example “a frost – making stillness, Not a leaf, not a bird, - A world cast in frost.  I came out above the wood”.  The poet has made great use of metaphors in this poem, using them to his advantage, as it gives the reader a vivid picture of the scene he is trying to portray, here at the start and throughout the rest of the poem.  Another significant place where this technique is used is

“Grey silent fragments

Of a grey silent world.”

        Here this is very effective because it gives the reader the impression of a totally ‘empty’ place, silent, cold and where the narrator is completely alone – like the way that some people can come to feel in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

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        The theme of silence is developed in this way throughout the entire poem, mainly by using metaphors very effectively, accompanied by vivid description e.g.

“The curlew’s tear turned its edge on the silence.  

Slowly detail leafed from the darkness.  Then the sun

Orange, red, red erupted.”

         I think that this particular quote is very beautiful, as it almost identifies a ‘break’ in the silence, as if everything was gradually starting to ‘come back to life’.  Also the colour ‘erupting’ made me think of noise, rather than silence, giving a significant example of imagery, which ...

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