Presentation about the poem Horse Whisperer from the Character and Voice section of the Anthology for GCSE

3. Instantly
introduced
with an
aggressive
attitude They shouted for me
towards the Imagery of this
narrator
when their horses snorted, when restless magical method
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 Relating to
the senses
to my hands.
Forester describes an experience of a
Horse Whisperer, who is first sought
for his gifts then hounded for them

4. Aggressive
tone, They shouted for me
Repetition
when their horses reared at burning straw
and eyes revolved in stately heads.
I would pull a frog's wishbone,
Alliteration,
tainted by meat, from a pouch,
The people think of
also shows that a new fear to fight the fear of fire,
the mighty him as some sort of
horses are so I could lead the horses, “witch-doctor”
weak in some
senses like helpless children, to safety.
In this Stanza we are seeing more into the magic
of the Horse Whisperer. This is setting up the
character to be taken apart in the next stanza

5. What does
the warning How is the HW going to protect
represent? I swore I would protect this legacy? Why would they need
What is it a to be protected?
this legacy of whispers
warning
for? but the tractor came over the fields
like a warning. I was the life-blood
Why is it set within
no longer. From pulpits a Catholic
Why are such I was scorned as demon and witch. community?
methods
Pitchforks drove me from villages and farms.
necessary?
What is Andrew Forester trying to achieve
from this Stanza? Why does he use these
Methods?

6. Shows the HW The HW feels hurt by
actual strength or these people who
My gifts were the tools of revenge. have left him so, he
id this
metaphorical A foul hex above a stable door hurt them
(Sarcastic so a trusted stallion could be ridden
maybe)
no more. Then I joined the stampede,
with others of my kind,
Horse analygy
Forced, Exiled to countries far from our trade.
to go else
where because
they need not
want him/her

7. In the quotation, who is they and who is me ?
They shouted for me
when their horses …

10.  We see that the Stanza length gets
shorter each time. This is symbolic
showing that once his/her life was full but
is now shortening. Its like s/he is coming
to the end of their career.
 The poem is written in free verse
reflecting the different aspects of the
narrative.

11.  He was born in 1964 in  This means that the
South Yorkshire, but inspiration for the
lived in Scotland for poem came from his
most of his life surroundings and the
 In South Yorkshire and attitudes of people
Scotland the from the area.
landscape is mostly  We can see that the
hilly, where the poem is based on the
heritage is of farming demise of horses used
and agriculture. This in work. This would of
means his view on the come from the views
of the people he was
surrounded by.

12.  In 1900 around 1million  When steam power
horses were being started being used,
used in agriculture, but thousands of horses
14 years later there were sold or left
was only around unused on a farm.
20,000. They were not
 This was because of needed, so were not
the invention of the bred much further.
steam engine.  This meant all horse-
related workers had a
smaller market. This
meant hundreds went
out of work.

13.  Want for the horse
whisperer
 Horsey words
 Secrets of his work
relating to the
witchcraft-
Supersition
 Contradiction

14.  In Relation to the word “charm” on the
8th line. This word conjures up images of a
magical person willing some-one or
something to perform its deeds. This is
relevant to the apparent Whisperer who
wills these “giants” to carry on with their
laborious tasks

15.  In the first sentence we can that the horse
whisperer is called for when “snorted”.
 This shows the petty-ness of this snort but the
farmers cared so much for the horses that they
would do anything for them
 However throughout the poem we see that
horse whisperer shunted out of the community
“as a demon or a witch”.
 This shows how the view suddenly changed,
they were once a valued member but now
banished.
 Andrew Forster uses contrast to show the
emotion of the character sudden position.

16.  Language
 Structure/form
 Poetic methods
 Character and voice
 Links

17. •

18.  A. Describes the close relationship
between horse and man

20.  Encourages us to sympathise with the
narrator. Perhaps he is 'whispering' to us in
the same way as he did the horses?

22.  The poem is narrated by a horse whisperer, who
begins by describing his work with horses and
the secrets of his trade, which sound like magic but
seem completely natural. When the people who once
used his skills turn against him, believing that he uses
witchcraft, the speaker decides to finally give up his
trade, even though he had sworn to protect its secrets.
The speaker also chooses to use his powers against
the owners of the horses, corrupting the animals,
before fleeing the country.
 The poem creates a strong sense of the relationship
between man and horse and the tensions between
superstition, religion and progress are explored.