THE CITY SCHOOL

Darakhshan Campus
Senior Boys Section

ENGLISH PROJECT
NAME: SHABD SARAN CLASS: P-III S TOPIC: THE RAIN HORSE ASSIGNED BY: MISS ZAINAB DEADLINE: 14-2-2012

Edward "Ted" James Hughes OM (17 August 1930 28 October 1998) was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death. Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until her death] by suicide in 1963 at the age of 30. His part in the relationship became controversial to some feminists and (particularly) American admirers of Plath. His last poetic work, Birthday Letters (1998), explored their complex relationship. These poems make reference to Plath's suicide, but none of them addresses directly the circumstances of her death. A poem discovered in October 2010, Last letter, describes what happened during the three days leading up to Plath's suicide.

A young man
The man in the story is young. He had not visited the land in over twelve years and seems very out of touch with nature. He has a strong sense of disconnection with the land surrounding him. While on his visit he appears to be anxious and bored. These feelings caused him to become angry. The man shows signs of anger towards his decision to come back to the land. It is almost like he has no idea why he came back. In the story when the rain came, the man enjoyed it. When the man gets attacked by the horse he shows signs of fear and concern. He didnt know what to do in the situation. HORSE

The horse was the other main character. It was a wild horse that had a coat of black. The horse became easily agitated at the site of the young man on his territory. Both the horse and the young man were inferior to each other. In the story they both fought each other. This showed their survival skills. The horse felt violated by the man and took up for himself the same way that the man did when he was being attacked. Their attacks showed a sense of hostility and pride. In the story neither one of them were satisfied with what was happening on the land.

The Rain Horse by Ted Hughes is an excellent book based on the troubles of a man and nature. The story begins with a young man returning home upon an extended leave of absence. This young man is extremely excited to visit this place called home until he visually sees the state of this place. The dull and gloomy atmosphere changes his whole state of mind and meanwhile the rain is steadily coming down. A horse then appears in a demeaning manor, one that would alarm those of whom are in its surrounding. The young man never lets his eyes leave this horse because he has many thoughts running throughout his head. The horse then constantly fades in and out of the mans vision until it finally disappears creating an even gloomier atmosphere. Since his arrival, nature has been the least of friends and has created in him this desire to leave. He tries ever so hard to even walk but he struggles due to the power and speed of the rain. At one point, the man reaches safety below the trunk of a tree, but his safety only lasted but so long. Once again he is attacked by this mysterious horse which fades in and out of his sight. This time he is not sure whether this is real or just an illusion of his mind. The horse appears again and attacks the man causing him to realize that its actions are intentional. The horse is truly after him and causes the mans emotions to turn from fear to anger and revenge. He reaches a breaking point and decides to fight back for his life. He gathers stones so that he is fully equipped for the next attacking. The horse returns again but this time the man fights his fears and launches the stones at the horse until his arm was sore. The horse than flees and the man heads off to the farmhouse. Upon reaching the house, he ponders on whether this whole account has actually taken place.