Below is a three text comparative paragraph based on the setting of the three poems. I hope you find it worth reading.
The setting and horses
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Circus – created by people, bright, colourful, loud
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Dartmoor / predawn and dawn – imagines urban setting in the future
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In the future / Rural setting / after a war that has destroyed most humans
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Quotations
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"The horses amble on a disc of dreams"
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"I climbed through woods in the hour before dawn dark."
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"Barely a twelvemonth after /The seven days war that put the world to sleep"
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Another important way the horses are presented is through the use of settings. The poets use the settings in their poems to build up a strong impression of the horses. The horses are partly defined by their settings. In MacNeice’s poem the setting is a circus. The horses are trained performers for the audiences’ entertainment. MacNeice describes, "The horses amble on a disc of dreams". This man made environment is described as otherworldly and magical in this ‘disc of dreams’ emphasised by the alliteration. This ‘disc’ maybe suggests fantasy to those watching. MacNeice uses the circus and the rhythm of the line as a way of addressing the children he has written for. Within this setting the horses ‘amble’ this verb denotes the horses plodding slowly at an easy pace. This suggests a lack of vitality or energy. It may also present the horses as trained. In contrast to this controlled environment Hughes presents the horses in a natural environment as he stumbles upon them before sunrise. It is Hughes giving ‘a voice to the landscape of England.’Barely a twelvemonth after /The seven days war that put the world to sleep’ This is an alien and unfamiliar setting. However Muir may be imagining the results of a conflict between Russia and America during the Cold War of the 1950's - when this poem was written. However the horses that inhabit this future are a symbol of the past. They are comforting and familiar in the context of a world tragedy. ‘The seven days war’ reflects the story of the seven days it took to create the world. This biblical reference reflects the epic nature of the poem. Muir uses the noun ‘sleep’ as a euphemism for death. The news that the whole world has been destroyed is so painful the narrator resorts to figurative language.
He writes ‘I climbed through woods in the hour before dawn dark’. Hughes describes the setting as remote and isolated – beyond the ‘woods’. The remoteness is emphasised by the verb ‘climbed’ that suggests physical struggle and work. And the alliterative ‘dawn dark’ is used to create a strong visual image. The predawn walk is also used to emphasise Hughes’s isolation. But also highlights Hughes's love for the wildlife of the natural world. The horses in this setting are independent. They are wild and there is no relationship between people and horses. In fact Hughes enters the world of the horses. Muir presents a different setting to both MacNeice and Hughes. Here is a futuristic dystopian vision of the future when he begins his poem ‘
He writes ‘I climbed through woods in the hour before dawn dark’. Hughes describes the setting as remote and isolated – beyond the ‘woods’. The remoteness is emphasised by the verb ‘climbed’ that suggests physical struggle and work. And the alliterative ‘dawn dark’ is used to create a strong visual image. The predawn walk is also used to emphasise Hughes’s isolation. But also highlights Hughes's love for the wildlife of the natural world. The horses in this setting are independent. They are wild and there is no relationship between people and horses. In fact Hughes enters the world of the horses. Muir presents a different setting to both MacNeice and Hughes. Here is a futuristic dystopian vision of the future when he begins his poem ‘
