Horse Whisperer Andrew Forster What does this picture say to you about the relationship between man and horse?

How is the relationship between man and horse different in this picture?

What does a ‘Horse Whisperer’ suggest to you?  Someone good with horses?  Someone who can talk to, and calm down, horses?  Someone with magical powers?  A character from a film or a book?  A spiritual person?  Fantasy?  Countryman?

Structure What do you notice about the structure of the poem? Look at line lengths and stanza sizes. Look at the poet’s use of punctuation and what this may add to the sense or meaning of the poem.

Meaning or message? Who is the narrator? Why do you think he wants to tell us his story? What do you think this poem is about? Who is involved in the action and why?

Imagery

Reading for meaning: similes. First let’s recap. What is a simile? A simile is where two things are directly compared because they share a common feature. The word AS or LIKE is used to compare the two words. Example: As cold AS a dog's nose. Read through and see if you can find some similes.

They shouted for me, when their horses reared at the burning straw, and eyes revolved in stately heads. I would pull a frog’s wishbone, tainted by meat, from a pouch, a new fear to fight the fear of fire, so I could lead the horses, like helpless children to safety.

I swore I would protect, This legacy of whispers, But the tractor came over the fields, Like a warning. I was the life-blood, No longer. From pulpits, I was scorned as demon and witch. Pitchforks drove me from villages and farms.

Personification Recap: What is personification? Definition: when you make a thing, idea, or an animal do something only humans can do. Example:"Wind yells while blowing" "Wind yells while blowing" is an example of personification because wind cannot yell. Only a living thing can yell.

‘Pitchforks drove me from villages and farms.’ What is the poet trying to say by using this example of personification do you think? Discuss it with someone and be prepared to feedback in a few minutes.

Repetition Repetition is when a word or phrase is repeated for effect. In Horse Whisperer Foster repeats the word ‘pride’ twice in the final two lines, placing these words at the end of the lines for added emphasis. Why do you think he repeated that particular word? What is the effect?

LANGUAGE

Go through the poem and highlight the verbs! The Horse Whisperer; The Farmers; The Horses. Try to use different colours for the verbs connected to…

Reading for meaning : verbs in the poem. Red verbs indicate words connected with the farmers. Brown verbs indicate words associated with the horses. Blue verbs indicate words linked with the Horse Whisperer. N.B. Not all verbs have been highlighted.

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 from the mouth of a just-born foal, scented with rosemary, cinnamon, a charm to draw the tender giants to my hands. The Horse Whisperer

They shouted for me, when their horses reared at the burning straw, and eyes revolved in stately heads. I would pull a frog’s wishbone, tainted by meat, from a pouch, a new fear to fight the fear of fire, so I could lead the horses, like helpless children to safety.

I swore I would protect, This legacy of whispers, But the tractor came over the fields, Like a warning. I was the life-blood, No longer. From pulpits, I was scorned as demon and witch. Pitchforks drove me from villages and farms.

My gifts were the tools of revenge. a foul hex above a stable door, so a trusted stallion could be ridden, no more. Then I joined the stampede, with others of my kind, to countries far from our trade.

Still I miss them. Shire, Clydesdale, Suffolk. The searing breath, glistening veins, steady tread and the pride, most of all the pride.

What do the verbs say about the ranchers? ‘shouted,’ ‘shouted,’ ‘scorned’ and ‘drove.’ These verbs are aggressive and violent. The farmers ‘shout’ at the Horse Whisperer to help them. The past tense verb ‘shouted’ could suggest their level of fear at having an animal which will not work as horses were integral to life on a ranch. The verb also suggests that the Horse Whisperer was not an equal to the farmers, more of a servant to be ordered and bossed about. That the verb is past tense also leads directly to the end of the poem and the knowledge that the Horse Whisperer is no longer needed with the advent of the tractor and mechanised agricultural machinery. Later the verbs become more obviously aggressive. The verb ‘scorned’ suggests the Horse Whisperer is made an outcaste. His trade is linked with black magic and the farmers drive him off their land. The farmers have always seen the Horse Whisperer as an outsider and as soon as they have no need of him they get rid of him – they are seen as very intolerant of difference.

What do the verbs suggest about the horses? ‘snorted,’ ‘traced,’ ‘refused,’ ‘reared’ and ‘revolved.’ What do these words suggest about the way the horses feel about the way they were treated? What makes you think that? How do you feel about the treatment of the horses? Be prepared to feedback in 5 minutes.

What do the verbs indicate about the Horse Whisperer? ‘pulled,’ ‘scented,’ ‘draw,’ ‘pull,’ ‘lead,’ ‘swore,’ ‘would protect’ and ‘joined.’ Is the Horse Whisperer using magic or learned skills to calm the horses? What makes you think that? What is the Horse Whisperer’s aim in life? What does that suggest about him? How does this contrast with the aims of the ranchers? Feedback in 5 minutes.

Reading for meaning: Adjectives. Let’s recap before we go on. What are adjectives? Adjectives are describing words - they tell you more about nouns. Nouns are 'naming' words, they are a person, place or thing. Adjectives tell you more about the noun. Adjectives can be colours.

Adjective s Highlight the adjectives in a different colour to those you have used for the verbs.

The Horse Whisperer 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 from the mouth of a just-born foal, scented with rosemary, cinnamon, a charm to draw the tender giants to my hands.

They shouted for me, when their horses reared at the burning straw, and eyes revolved in stately heads. I would pull a frog’s wishbone, tainted by meat, from a pouch, a new fear to fight the fear of fire, so I could lead the horses, like helpless children to safety.

My gifts were the tools of revenge. a foul hex above a stable door, so a trusted stallion could be ridden, no more.

Still I miss them. Shire, Clydesdale, Suffolk. The searing breath, glistening veins, steady tread and the pride, most of all the pride.

Adjectives Read through the poem and omit the adjectives and think about what they add to the sense and feeling of the poem. Talk about your ideas with a partner and be prepared to feedback your ideas in 5 minutes to the rest of the class.

The poet has used the adjective ‘burning’ in front of the noun ‘straw’ to conjure up this kind of image in our heads. Straw is highly flammable and sends out tiny specks of burning material out as it burns (see the picture). Horses used to lying in such material would be very vulnerable to being seriously hurt and would be terrified by a fire. The narrator shows that the horses’ fear is natural as he describes their heads as ‘stately.’ This adjective indicates that they are intelligent, noble animals and shows the level of fear created by a straw fire by describing their eyes using the verb ‘revolved.’ The dictionary definition of ‘stately’ is ‘characterised by a graceful, dignified and imposing appearance or manner.’ This definition sums up these noble animals. The Horse Whisperer uses fear but only in a gentle way. He uses the fear of a frog’s wishbone to combat the fear of the fire and to get the horses to move. He describes the horses using the adjective ‘helpless’ in order to show that the fear he creates in the horses is necessary in order to save their lives.

The effect of the adjective The penultimate stanza contains an example of a negative and a positive adjective in opposition with one another. This device shows how suddenly the whisperer’s art is used misguidedly in a ‘foul’ spell or hex to stop a ‘trusted’ horse riding out again. This device is powerful in showing how angry the whisperer was at how he was treated by the ranchers and priests as he would never normally have hurt a horse. It powerfully shows the harm mechanisation caused men and animals in this way. The final stanza of the poem uses adjectives to show the Whisperer’s respect for the horses. The adjective ‘searing’ suggests warmth and fire, ‘glistening’ suggests their beauty and value, and ‘steady’ indicates that they are trustworthy and reliable.

And finally… You now have a really good understanding of the poem and the techniques that the poet has used to get his ideas across. Before we sum up what we have discovered about this poem we’ll have a quick look at the horses which are named in the final stanza. This will give us a better idea about what kind of animals we are being told about.

Man’s use of horses:

So what have you learned? Each person in the class stand up and tell me one thing that you have learned from studying the poem about:  S - the structure of the poem;  M – the meaning of the poem;  I – the imagery;  L -the poet’s use of language;  E – the effect; the feelings evoked; your personal response and why you feel that way etc..