This is my essay on "The Horses" by Edwin Muir
By the way its not done yet!, Thanks
___________________________________________________________________________________
The Horses Essay
Edwin Muir the war poet’s poem “the horses” makes you relive the breakdown of the world as we know it. This poem has strong links to the bible which is shown by the use of several metaphors and other poetic techniques. He takes us on a journey of seven day, as the obliterated, crumbling world is shot back in time.
“The Horses” is a very simple and straight to the point title which sets the main focus of the poem. As you read further into the poem, slowly more and more detail about the horses is unravelled. Although selecting this phrase for the title makes it very bold, it also seems to hide some detail and makes you want to find out more, in other words it’s a phrase that grips the reader.
The very first few lines introduce the poem by setting the scene and very briefly opens the rest of the poem up to the reader:
Barely a twelve month after the seven days that put the world to Sleep late in the evening the strange horses came
Using “barely a twelvemonth” makes this part of the poem archaic but also emphasises that twelve months or a year is not a long time when it comes to war. “seven days war that put the world to sleep” links to the bible due to the fact that god was said to have made the earth in seven days but this poem shows the polar opposite and that it take seven days to destroy it.
But in the first few days it was so still
This sentence has an S sound running through it creating a feel of emptiness making the reader feel uneasy.
“On the second day” is a marker for the start of a new day and finishes the last stanza in addition it links to the bible again about gods seven day creation of the earth
The radios failed; we turned the knobs; no answer.
This sentence is very brief and gives only the information it needs to and by doing this it makes the reader tense. It also backs up the sense that the world is very silent and still. This simple line creates a sense of discomfort as you would typically listen to the radio or TV I you were by your self so it is very strange not being able to communicate in any way to the outside world after doing so for so long. The writer uses semi colons three times in the tiny line which creates a slightly longer pause than a comma would.
On the third day a warship passed us, heading north, dead bodies piled on the deck
When you read this sentence it starts of quite plainly by telling us that a warship passed heading north. By using “Us” creates a momentary feeling of security “Dead bodies piled on deck” creates an impact and is quite shocking this is a view of the war in extreme close up and leaves the reader shocked.
And still they stand in corners of our kitchens and stand perhaps turned on in a million other rooms all over the world.
Despite the uselessness of technology it still exists all over the world, and sits all over the world and waits for someone to use it. In this stanza it’s a radio sitting in every ones kitchen but when it should be playing it can’t because there is nobody there
___________________________________________________________________________________
The floating quotes should be in italics but this website don't seem to have italics =S
By the way its not done yet!, Thanks
___________________________________________________________________________________
The Horses Essay
Edwin Muir the war poet’s poem “the horses” makes you relive the breakdown of the world as we know it. This poem has strong links to the bible which is shown by the use of several metaphors and other poetic techniques. He takes us on a journey of seven day, as the obliterated, crumbling world is shot back in time.
“The Horses” is a very simple and straight to the point title which sets the main focus of the poem. As you read further into the poem, slowly more and more detail about the horses is unravelled. Although selecting this phrase for the title makes it very bold, it also seems to hide some detail and makes you want to find out more, in other words it’s a phrase that grips the reader.
The very first few lines introduce the poem by setting the scene and very briefly opens the rest of the poem up to the reader:
Barely a twelve month after the seven days that put the world to Sleep late in the evening the strange horses came
Using “barely a twelvemonth” makes this part of the poem archaic but also emphasises that twelve months or a year is not a long time when it comes to war. “seven days war that put the world to sleep” links to the bible due to the fact that god was said to have made the earth in seven days but this poem shows the polar opposite and that it take seven days to destroy it.
But in the first few days it was so still
This sentence has an S sound running through it creating a feel of emptiness making the reader feel uneasy.
“On the second day” is a marker for the start of a new day and finishes the last stanza in addition it links to the bible again about gods seven day creation of the earth
The radios failed; we turned the knobs; no answer.
This sentence is very brief and gives only the information it needs to and by doing this it makes the reader tense. It also backs up the sense that the world is very silent and still. This simple line creates a sense of discomfort as you would typically listen to the radio or TV I you were by your self so it is very strange not being able to communicate in any way to the outside world after doing so for so long. The writer uses semi colons three times in the tiny line which creates a slightly longer pause than a comma would.
On the third day a warship passed us, heading north, dead bodies piled on the deck
When you read this sentence it starts of quite plainly by telling us that a warship passed heading north. By using “Us” creates a momentary feeling of security “Dead bodies piled on deck” creates an impact and is quite shocking this is a view of the war in extreme close up and leaves the reader shocked.
And still they stand in corners of our kitchens and stand perhaps turned on in a million other rooms all over the world.
Despite the uselessness of technology it still exists all over the world, and sits all over the world and waits for someone to use it. In this stanza it’s a radio sitting in every ones kitchen but when it should be playing it can’t because there is nobody there
___________________________________________________________________________________
The floating quotes should be in italics but this website don't seem to have italics =S