Explore the ways in which two poets show their

attitude towards the animal world and nature in

two poems of your choice.
ES,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
Quotes from Pike:
"Pike, three inches long, perfect/pike in all parts,
green tigering the gold" - it conveys the poet's
sense of awe of nature with the word "perfect", the
repetition of the word "pike" is emphasizing the
fish and how nature made it perfect. The word
"tigering" also shows a link to nature and a
different powerful animal (tiger)
"whose lilies and muscular tench/had outlasted
every visible stone/of the monastery that planted
them" - this quote is showing the poet's feelings
about how nature can outlast anything humans can
do, the word "muscular" gives a sense of power
and strength and reverence (from the poet) to
nature, the quotation also suggests that
nature/plants have covered the stones of man-
made items (the monastery) and it also suggests
that the monastery people who planted the lilies
and everything were expecting to be able to
control it by planting them, but the nature
'defeated' them and overgrew them and outlasted
them which shows how the poet is amazed by the
power of nature.