The poems Horses by Edwin Muir and Pike by Ted Hughes

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

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