Poem

Fast rode the knight
With spurs, hot and reeking,
Ever waving an eager sword,
"To save my lady!"
Fast rode the knight,
And leaped from saddle to war.
Men of steel flickered and gleamed
Like riot of silver lights,
And the gold of the knight's good banner
Still waved on a castle wall.
. . . . .
A horse,
Blowing, staggering, bloody thing,
Forgotten at foot of castle wall.
A horse
Dead at foot of castle wall.



Hyperbole was used. There was a repetition of ‘Fast rode the knight’. “To save my lady!” was also used. The horse was also described vividly as ‘blowing, staggering, bloody thing’. The author wanted to invoke the image of the speeding knight and also wanted the readers to empathise with the horse. An emphasis of the knight’s desire in wanting to go for battle was also shown.

Personification was used. The sword was described as ‘eager’. Figuratively, the sword has taken on the feeling of a human. The author wanted to turn the object into a human with feelings and actions.

Metaphor was used. ‘Men of steel flickered and gleamed’ was used. Literally, there is no such thing as ‘men of steel’, but figuratively, the author is talking about the knights who are clad in armour. The author is relating two unrelated items with each other.

Simile was used. ‘Like riot of silver lights’ was used. Silver lights do not have any relations with riots, literally. But figuratively, it meant that it was a riot of the knights. The author wanted to compare two unrelated objects with one another.

Symbolism
The horse and the banner are symbols. The banner is the symbol of the knights’ victory. If the banner is broken, then it symbolises that the knights have been defeated. The horse symbolises the fighting power of the knights. The knight, the higher rank, abandoned the horse, which means that the knight abandoned the fighting power.

WHY I LIKE THIS POEM!
I like this poem because it is interesting. It has figurative language in it, which makes it even more interesting as I have loads of fun spotting them and solving them. The poem too, tells us about the relations between the knights and the horses. The knights have the glory of defeating the other soldiers. The horses are different; they are just seen as the transportation for the knights to do battle.

When the knights gain victory, the horses do not have the glory. They are mostly slain on the battlefield, or after the battle, they are just not cared for. This poem has made me realise that humans are rather unfeeling towards animals when there is glory around.