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Jul 7, 2017 · perhaps the best-known poem called ‘The Horses’ is the masterly post-nuclear poem of 1956 by the Scottish poet Edwin Muir (1887-1959). Muir tells us about a war that lasted seven days and ‘put the world to sleep’. Barely a year (‘twelvemonth’) later, ‘strange horses’ came.
Poems about horses capture the majestic and spirited nature of these magnificent creatures. They celebrate the bond between humans and horses, exploring themes of freedom, strength, and the untamed beauty of the equine world.
- Allegory. An allegory is a story, poem, or other written work that can be interpreted to have a secondary meaning. Aesop’s Fables are examples of allegories, as they are ostensibly about one thing (such as “The Ant and the Grasshopper”) but actually have a secondary meaning.
- Alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of a sound or letter at the beginning of multiple words in a series. “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…”
- Allusion. An allusion is an indirect reference to something. “The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them hardest.” - Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.
- Apostrophe. An apostrophe is a poetic device where the writer addresses a person or thing that isn’t present with an exclamation. “O stranger of the future!
- Summary Ofhorses
- Themes in Horses
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis of Horses
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In the first lines of the poem, the speakerspends time discussing the dark Berlin winter. It’s a terrible time to be in the city. The air is like “white wet bread,” and everything is drab and colorless. In a moment that stands out beyond all others to the speaker, he looks down at horses in the city. These horses, which are actually part of a fount...
In ‘Horses,’ Neruda engages with themes of hope, light, and darkness. In contrast to the sorrowful winter darkness of Berlin, his speaker presents the light of the “horses.” They speak to him of something warm, burning, and free. He compares it to the feeling one might get when they look in a prisoner’s eyes—an all-consuming desire to break down ba...
‘Horses’ by Pablo Neruda is a twenty-nine-line poem that is divided into stanzas ranging from one line to five lines in length. These lines do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. But, this doesn’t mean the poem is without either. Close readers should be able to find examples of half-rhyme throughout ‘Horses.’ For example, “pride...
Neruda makes use of several literary devices in ‘Horses.’ These include but are not limited to examples of caesura, alliteration, and enjambment. The first of these, a caesura, is a pause in the middle of a line of poetry. This might occur due to the poet’s use of punctuation or because there’s a natural pause in the meter. Line eleven is a good ex...
Lines 1-4
In the first lines of ‘Horses,’ the speaker begins by stating very simply that he “saw the horses” from his window. He was in Berlin, Germany, and it was winter. The immediate alliterative connection between “window” and “winter” in the first lines helps to create the feeling of a rhythmbetween the lines. It’s made clear in the next lines, through Neruda’s creative manipulation of language, that it was a dark winter. There was little to no light, and the “sky had no heaven.” The last phrase i...
Lines 5-13
In the following lines, the poet uses more examples of figurative language to describe the scene around him. He uses personification to describe winter as something with “teeth” that can bite. This is a familiar and relatable way of depicting the cold. In juxtapositionto the cold is the “fire” of the horses. They were “like ten gods,” the speaker adds, “with manes like a dream of salt.” Neruda uses simile after simile and metaphorto depict these powerful animals and their striking contrast ag...
Lines 14-23
The next lines are spent depicting the horses in greater detail, from the color of their “rumps” to the shape of their necks. The speaker feels “pride” and energy radiating from the eyes of the animals. He uses a simple to compare the animals and their energy to that of a prisoner longing to break free. The horse represented something completely at odds with the life the speaker was living at the time. They were “inciting treasure of life” and making him feel more alive than he had.
Readers who enjoyed ‘Horses’ should also consider reading some of Pablo Neruda’s other best-known poems. For example, ‘Tonight I Can Write,’‘Here I Love You,’and ‘Ode to My Suit.’ These three poems represent a good array of Neruda’s work. The latter is exactly what it sounds like, an ode to the speaker’s suit. In the poem, the poet focuses on the b...
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- October 9, 1995
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PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous horse poems. These examples illustrate what a famous horse poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate). See also:
Oct 15, 2023 · A full glossary of every poetic term you will need, from abecedarian to zeugma. Includes references to poems as examples.
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Horse Poems - Popular examples of all types of horse poetry to share and read. View a list of new poems for HORSE by modern poets.
