Poetry

Across Time: Character and Voice

Key Language: connotation, imagery, metaphor, simile Structure and Form: stanzas, type, patterns, contrast, juxtaposition Poetic methods: alliteration, caesura, assonance, rhythm, rhyme Character and Voice: Who is speaking and to whom? Tone of voice Links: Comparisons to other speakers, methods and themes

Instantly introduced with an aggressive tone towards the narrator Visual qualities

Horse Whisperer

The poem is made up of five irregular stanzas. These shorten towards the end to reflect the Horse Whisperers way of life drawing to a close. Use of a simile to compare the horses The simile is in keeping with this stanzas feeling of evil and foreboding The poem is written in free verse reflecting the different aspects of the narrative Enjambment Links back to how they feel about him. Hex: Cast a spell on; bewitch

The stallion has been injured maybe even killed Visual qualities

They shouted for me when their horses snorted, when restless hooves traced circles in the earth and shimmering muscles refused the plough. My secret was a spongy tissue, pulled bloody Knows of way in which to from the mouth of a just-born foal, calm the horse scented with rosemary, cinnamon, a charm to draw the tender giants to my hands. Aggressive tone They shouted for me when their horses reared at the burning straw and eyes revolved in stately heads. They think of him as some sort of I would pull a frog's wishbone, witch-doctor tainted by meat, from a pouch, a new fear to fight the fear of fire, so I could lead the horses, This line could be seen as symbolic for like helpless children, to safety. the mighty horses rearing up in fear at the fire I swore I would protect this legacy of whispers Symbolic of the marked change but the tractor came over the fields that mechanised agricultural like a warning. I was the life-blood machinery was to have on the no longer. From pulpits lives of those in rural areas I was scorned as a demon and witch. Pitchforks drove me from villages and farms. Negative connotations My gifts were the tools of revenge. The simile as demon and witch shows A foul hex above a stable door the populations distrust of his skills so a trusted stallion could be ridden no more. Then I joined the stampede, with horses. with others of my kind, Forced to move away as there was to countries far from our trade. no more work Still I miss them. Shire, Clydesdale, Suffolk. Final short stanza - caesura The searing breath, glistening veins, between each named breed steady tread and the pride, of horse adds gravity to the most of all the pride. loss and sadness. Andrew Forster

Forster describes the experience of a horse whisperer who is at first sought out and then hounded for his gifts.

Interpretations of the poem:

After stumbling across a book on strange phenomena while visiting a friend, Forster became fascinated by the techniques employed by whisperers and by the changing public perception of their skills. The voice in the poem is an individual voice but represents the experience of all horse whisperers.