horse as narrative device

Uses horses as metaphysical symbols of time, memory, and spiritual longing, most memorably in *Mirror* and *Stalker*.

Employs horses to explore human obsession and the struggle against nature, particularly in *Aguirre, the Wrath of God* and *Fitzcarraldo*.

Transforms horses into essential narrative vehicles that define character, fate, and the mythology of the American West in his operatic westerns.