Brobdingnagian horse

The Brobdingnagian horse is one of the most striking embodiments of the sheer scale of the kingdom of Brobdingnag, a creature whose dimensions dwarf not only Gulliver but also the largest horses of Europe. Standing between fifty-four and sixty feet high, these animals are integral to the daily life, military spectacle, and royal pageantry of the giant nation, and their presence forces a radical reorientation of Gulliver's—and the reader's—sense of normalcy. More than mere beasts of burden, the Brobdingnagian horses become instruments of satire, revealing the relativity of size, power, and dignity.

Size and Scale

The Brobdingnagian horse is a creature of staggering proportions. The king's stables typically house no more than six hundred horses, each standing between fifty-four and sixty feet high. A cavalier mounted on a large steed might reach about ninety feet in height. The sheer bulk of these animals is such that a single horse's hoof could easily crush a man of Gulliver's stature. When Gulliver first encounters a Brobdingnagian horse, he is struck with utmost fear and astonishment, as the creature appears as tall as an ordinary spire steeple and takes about ten yards at every stride. The horses are so immense that their riders, when mounted, tower over Gulliver like living mountains.

Role in Military and Ceremony

The Brobdingnagian horse is central to the kingdom's military displays. The king, when he goes abroad on solemn days, is attended by a militia guard of five hundred horse, a sight Gulliver considers the most splendid he ever beheld until he sees part of the army in battle array. The horses are trained to perform complex maneuvers; Gulliver witnesses a whole body of horse, upon a word of command, draw their swords at once and brandish them in the air, a spectacle he describes as looking like ten thousand flashes of lightning darting from every quarter of the sky. The horses are also used in the training of the militia, which consists of twenty-five thousand foot and six thousand horse, drawn out to exercise in a great field near Lorbrulgrud. The horses are so large that a single rider on a steed might be about ninety feet high, making the cavalry a terrifying force.

Interaction with Gulliver

Gulliver's encounters with Brobdingnagian horses are fraught with danger and absurdity. When he first arrives in the country, he sees a huge creature walking after his shipmates in the sea, wading not much deeper than his knees and taking prodigious strides. Later, at the farmer's house, he is terrified by a mastiff equal in bulk to four elephants and a greyhound somewhat taller than the mastiff. The horses are so large that their mere presence is a threat; Gulliver is afraid of being trod to death like a frog or a young puppy. The horses are also used in the royal stables, where they are frequently exercised in Gulliver's sight to accustom themselves to him. The riders would leap them over his hand as he held it on the ground, and one of the emperor's huntsmen, upon a large courser, took his foot, shoe and all, which was indeed a prodigious leap.

Thematic Significance

The Brobdingnagian horse serves as a powerful symbol of the relativity of perspective. In Lilliput, Gulliver was a giant who could draw an imperial fleet; in Brobdingnag, he is a mere insect, vulnerable to the whims of creatures as large as horses. The horses' immense size underscores the theme of human insignificance in the face of nature's scale. The king of Brobdingnag, upon hearing Gulliver's descriptions of European politics and warfare, observes how contemptible a thing is human grandeur, which could be mimicked by such diminutive insects as Gulliver. The horses, like the Brobdingnagians themselves, are a constant reminder that size and power are relative, and that human pretensions to greatness are often laughable when viewed from a different perspective. The horses also highlight the absurdity of Gulliver's own self-importance; he is forced to confront his own littleness and the fragility of his existence in a world where even a horse's hoof could end his life.