the horses

the text of the poem is on page 7 of your books

some introductory thoughts on what the poem is about

• The poem evokes an eerie, frozen winter morning scene, before dawn, when the speaker walks alone, up through woods, high above his starting-point, and then on to open upland where he finds ten silent horses.

• The horses seem somehow integrated into the surrounding ambience - silent and still, a kind of massive, fragmented presence.

• The speaker goes on to listen to the early-morning cry of the moorland curlew, a long-beaked bird associated with lonely open spaces at the edge of the high moorland (click on this link to listen to its evocative call). 

• The transition from darkness to the volatile appearance of the morning sun seems to suggest some sort of cosmic cataclysm, and the speaker descends in the direction of the still dark woodland.

• There is a sense of revelation in the speaker's second encounter with these still, statuesque horses and their appearance in the morning light.

• The final stanza introduces an everyday urban scene, through the contemporary image of ‘crowded streets’ - this contrasts with the peaceful moorland and its skies whose profound stillness is a place where the speaker’s memory could be met and confronted.

some questions to consider

• Explore how the poet depicts a sense of disturbing, dark stillness in the opening lines.  What do you think the phrase ‘evil air’ suggests?

• Think about how the phrase ‘megalith-still’ is effective in conveying the horses' statue-like presence.

• Analyse how the phrases ‘making no move’ and ‘making no sound’ contribute to the depiction of the horses. What is the effect of this repeated structure?

• Why is the idea of the silence of the horses so important to the speaker?

• Why does the speaker describe the horses as ‘Grey silent fragments / Of a grey silent world’?

• How does the speaker evoke ideas of cosmic happenings as the sun appears in the sky?

• Why does the speaker use violent language (‘tore and flung’) in describing the morning sun dispersing the clouds and darkness?

• How do you respond to the idea of ‘stumbling in the fever of a dream’?  If the speaker isn’t actually sleep-walking, what is happening?

• As the speaker encounters the horses for the second time, now more visible, what does he emphasise about what he sees?  Pick out and explore the vocabulary that interests you.

• In your own words, try to summarise what you think the speaker is saying in the final 5 lines concerning horizons and memories.

• Try reading some of the poems about the moon listed below - which do you think is most unlike Hughes's poem?

some creative writing to help you understand the poem more deeply

• Which aspect of a horse or a similar large animal might inspire you to write a poem?  Why not try writing about a race-horse running at speed, or develop your own 'take' on Hughes's idea of the 'monolithic' horses?  What sort of form will your poem take?

Poems on related subjects by Ted Hughes

Bones on page 214 of your books.

some other lovely poems in English about horses, visions recalled, and associated topics

• Horses * by Jennifer Gray

• The Horses * by Edwin Muir

• Horses on the Grass * by Grace Shulman

• from Vacillation * by W. B. Yeats

A superb podcast * discussion of the poem from teachers at Bristol Grammar School.

photo

Near Heptonstall, West Yorkshire, England - photo by James Harding