Explore the ways in which two poets show their attitude towards the animal world and nature in two poems of your choice.
Elizabeth Stanley 10ML
In the poems Horses by Edwin Muir and Pike by Ted Hughes, the poets use poetic devices to convey their views towards the animal world and nature. Both poems possess central themes of animals and nature, although Edwin Muir incorporates a negative theme of industrialization and the repression of nature while Ted Hughes maintains a more positive tone throughout the poem.
Towards the beginning of the poem "Horses" the poet conveys his feelings towards animals and nature through his use of descriptive imagery.
"The lumbering horses in the steady plow/on the bare field"
The use of adjectives such as "lumbering" and "steady" to describe the horses also express the poet's views of how he believes nature is very permanent, and unchangeable or untamable by humans, and also suggests the poet's respect for nature and his wish for nature to stay unchanged. The word "bare" is a metaphor for a blank canvas and the adaptability of nature, although it is permanent and stable. This helps to convey the poet's awe and admiration towards the power of nature.
Edwin Muir's reverence to the horses and nature is highlighted in the following quotation, and by use of foreshadowing the corruption of nature is also implied.
"and their great hulks were seraphim of gold/like mute ecstatic monsters on the mould"
The use of the word "seraphim" imbues the horses with a sense of godliness and holiness, indicating the poet's view of the horses and nature as beings that should be honored and respected. The phrase "great hulks" suggests that even though the horses are large and unwieldily they are still intricate and delicate, shown by the word "gold", as gold is a precious metal which is usually crafted into ornate and expensive objects. "Mute ecstatic monsters" introduces the theme of industrialization in the poem and how the beautiful and free nature is being suppressed by humans and machines. The word "mute" could also be alluding to how the poet feels as if he's powerless to do anything to stop the repression of nature, or how nature is unable to fight back and is therefore "mute". "Monsters" uses a metaphor to show the fear and imposing power of the machine, and also the poet's view that industrialization is turning the natural world into a twisted, horrifying image of the true and pure nature that he idolizes earlier in the poem. A "mould" is something used to make objects that are exactly the same as each other, and the poet uses the word here to suggest the controlling aspect of industrialization, and also that nature is supposed to be unique and that objects exactly alike are unnatural which shows his resentment of humans industrializing the world.
In the second to last stanza, Edwin Muir definitively sums up his anger towards the repression of nature through his use of carefully selected adjectives, which serve to fully express nature's powerlessness.
"their manes the leaping ire of the wind/lifted with rage invisible and blind"
The use of powerful poetic diction such as "ire" and "rage" which convey anger and fury are initially describing the horses, but the horses are also a metaphor for the poet's own feelings towards the industrial revolution that was taking over the world. In this quotation, the poet utilizes an eye rhyme with "wind" and "blind" which creates a jarred feeling of dissent, signifying to the reader the wrongness the poet feels when he observes and experiences the subjugation of nature. "Blind" and "invisible" also allude to the humans who are enslaving nature and are blind to its suffering and frailty, or simply ignore it and pretend that the problems they are creating are invisible and unimportant.
The other poet, Ted Hughes, also conveys a sense of awe towards nature in the opening lines of the poem "Pike":
"Pike, three inches long, perfect/Pike in all parts, green tigering the gold"
The repetition of the word "Pike" serves to draw the reader's attention to the fish and make a strong point of what the poet wishes to say. The description of the pike as being "perfect" conveys the poet's feelings that nature creates everything perfectly and the fact that the pike is only "three inches long" heightens the sense of awe, as the poet implies that perfection is present in all shapes and forms of nature. "Tigering" compares the characteristic fierceness of tigers as a property of the pike, and also refers to nature again by mentioning the tiger, another animal. This is a metaphor for nature, which could be showing the poet's thinking that all of nature is connected and related to each other.
How the poet of "Pike" feels about the power of nature is shown through his use of adjectives, which convey a sense of strength and lastingness.
"whose lilies and muscular tench/had outlasted every visible stone/of the monastery that planted them"
The poet describes the pond he's fishing in as "muscular" which implies his feelings that nature is powerful. The word "outlasted" suggests the poet's opinion of the fact nature is strong, and that it has overgrown the "monastery that planted them" indicating that nature can overpower the man-made objects even though the lilies were "planted" and meant to be controlled by the humans. Lilies are characteristically a symbol for resurrection, purity and life, however lilies are also delicate and fragile flowers which need to be protected and even "planted" to survive. The poet uses lilies as a double metaphor for the adaptability and resilience of nature, but also its frailty and need for protection from humans, which could be posing a subtle warning that humans need to live in harmony with nature and not try to overcome it.
In conclusion, both poets convey their attitudes towards the animal world and nature in their poems by making use of a wide range of poetic techniques and engaging, vivid descriptions that bring the poems to life, clearly presenting their opinions they want to express to the reader.
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Word Count: 1001
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Plan:
Quotes from Horses:
"The lumbering horses in the steady plow/on the bare field" - it shows the poet's feelings about the regularity/steadfastness of nature, and the field is bare, which could represent a blank canvas; the ability of nature to adapt and change, or it could be a gloomy premonition of nature being wiped out (by industrialization)
"And their great hulks were seraphim of gold/like mute ecstatic monsters on the mould" - it shows the poet's reverence towards the horses by words/diction like "gold" and "seraphim" as well as saying, the horses are large and unwieldily but they're also angelic/graceful which could be a way of saying nature is amazing in any form. Then the second part of the quotation explains the way the poet is sad about the nature being corrupted by humans and industrialization