The Rain Horse

In "The Rain Horse," first published in The London Magazine in 1960, a nicely dressed adult man in a good suit has returned to his childhood home after a twelve year absence. The hilly and wooded...

In this short story, Ted Hughes places man against nature in a conflict that is incredibly strong in the way that it suggests man is alienated by nature. The strongest expression of this conflict...

This is an interesting question to attempt to answer, as we are never truly given what the precise nature of the unnamed protagonist's relationship with the land is. It is clear to us that the man...

Ted Hughes is the author of the short story, "The Rain Horse." In terms of conflict, it is defined as... The opposition between two characters (such as a protagonist and an antagonist), between...

"The Rain Horse" is a story about a young man who has come back to a place in the country that he has not visited for 12 years. Before making this journey he expected this to be a pleasant visit or...

The atmosphere of "The Rain Horse" by Ted Hughes is, indeed, rather gloomy and dark, even mysterious. Hughes begins to set this particular stage even in the very first sentence. The initial method...

Certainly, the horse is presented in a rather mysterious and sinister manner in this poetic story. Critics agree that animals are representative of depths of darkness that exist within Hughes...

The main theme that Ted Hughes uses for "The Rain Horse" is Man vs. Nature. The unnamed protagonist takes a shortcut through the wood and is beset by a black horse and by the constant rain and...

"The Rain Horse" by Ted Hughes is replete with nuances of myth and folklore. The suggestions develops the conflicts that the man encounters with the elements of Nature that seem in opposition to...

The internal conflict experienced by the central--and indeed the only--character in the story seems to be based around the man's reasons for returning to the region where he grew up. It is not...

The horse first appears in the story at a moment when the narrator is feeling particularly dispirited. Having returned to a once-familiar landscape hoping for a connection of some kind, he has...

Ted Hughes uses strong descriptive language to create an oppressive atmosphere in "The Rain Horse." As the unnamed man is attacked by a relentless horse in the woods, he is beset by both the horse...

In "The Rain Horse," the obvious example of the Pathetic Fallacy, in which non-humans are ascribed human emotions or motivations, is the titular horse itself. As the unnamed man flees, he sees the...

Nature in "The Rain Horse" is simply uncaring; there is no thought to the rain or mud, the thick forest or the wild horse. Without reason, Nature cannot be said to be intentionally aggressive;...

In Ted Hughes' "The Rain Horse," the use of imagery is very important in creating a mysterious and gloomy atmosphere. The descriptions used, to describe the stormy morning, are meant to instill...

The nameless man in "The Rain Horse" who is attacked by a mysterious black horse is not fully fleshed out; he is simply a man returning home after a long absence. However, the horse is not...

As a poet, Ted Hughes uses language in a very specific manner; strong descriptions and simple, unadorned prose allow deeper meanings to come from his texts. In "The Rain Horse," it is the power of...

Hughes' changing of the horse is one in which the horse becomes representative another element of the man. At a certain point in the confrontation between the man and the horse, the creature no...

From the very first sight that the man catches of the horse, it is clear that this is no ordinary horse, although initially perhaps the description of it running on its toes "like a cat, like a dog...

The propensity to link Hughes with the Romantic tradition arises in large part with his association to animals and the role they play in his writing. The choice of a horse in his story is...

This quote does not appear to be from the actual story, so I am assuming that it has been found in some publication that tells you information about the story. In a sense, the quotation does...

The weather, along with the image of the horse, reminds us of the terrifying force nature can have, and its wild unpredictability. At the beginning of the story, the rain is slight- The first thin...

Nature, as a primal force rather than a neutral constant, is often presented as overtly hostile in fiction; Ted Hughes uses the title animal in "The Rain Horse" as a metaphor for the bewildering...

The wood, in which the unnamed man hides from the attacking horse, is presented as a hostile, almost alive presence, providing shelter but also impeding his progress. At one point, while fleeing,...

In "The Rain Horse," the line between instinct and logic is blurred. Normally, the man would play the role of Logic, while the horse would play the role of Instinct. However, because of the horse's...