The Patriot
AN OLD STORY.
I.
It was roses, roses, all the way,
With myrtle mixed in my path like mad:
The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,
The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,
A year ago on this very day.
- The air broke into a mist with bells,
The old walls rocked with the crowd and cries.
Had I said, “Good folk, mere noise repels—
But give me your sun from yonder skies!”
They had answered, “And afterward, what else?”
III.Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun
To give it my loving friends to keep!
Nought man could do, have I left undone:
And you see my harvest, what I reap
This very day, now a year is run.
IV.
There’s nobody on the house-tops now—
Just a palsied few at the windows set;
For the best of the sight is, all allow,
At the Shambles’ Gate—or, better yet,
By the very scaffold’s foot, I trow.
V.
I go in the rain, and, more than needs,
A rope cuts both my wrists behind;
And I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds,
For they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones at me for my year’s misdeeds.
VI.
Thus I entered, and thus I go!
In triumphs, people have dropped down dead.
Paid by the world, what dost thou owe
Me?”—God might question; now instead,
‘Tis God shall repay: I am safer so.
Summary of The Patriot
- Popularity of “The Patriot”: As a dramatic monologue, the poem “The Patriot” by Robert Browning, is not only unique but also matchless. It first appeared in 1855 in his book, Men and Women, along with several other well-known monologues. The poetic uniqueness of this monologue rests on its quality of demonstrating a serious upheaval in the fate of a political leader, who considered himself a patriot, yet fell suddenly from that grace.
- “The Patriot” As a Representative of Political Fate: A hero of yesterday becomes a rebel and traitor of today which is not only a universal truth but a reality in the third world countries of today. Yet the insight Robert Browning has provided through this poem “The Patriot” astounds the readers in that a common incident occurring in every other state or mini-state entered a poet’s imagination of a colonial power of its time and that too in the past. Browning shows the leader thinking about his political heydays when the popularity of his career was at its peak and he was given a hero’s welcome with roses and myrtles thrown on him. However, soon this fortune changes into misfortune and he sees that the same people are now looking at him with pity, while a chariot taking him to gallows is going in the rain with his hands cuffed back and rope cutting his wrists. He only thinks about God saying tersely “’ Tis God shall repay” after saying that this is how he has entered the stage as a patriot and this is how he faces the gallows.
- Major Themes in “The Patriot”: Political upheavals, public memory, and mob psychology are three major thematic strands of this poem. The poem shows the speaker a political leader who is ruminating about the public response to his exploits that once he could have asked them to bring the sun for him and the public would have not hesitated but would have gone much ahead and asked him to order them to do something more. The sudden reversal of the situation now shows him the same people throwing stones at him, while the new setup is taking him to gallows after declaring him a traitor as if the public has forgotten his exploits. It demonstrates the transient public memory and mob psychology that the public follows the popular sloganeering and does not see the heroes of yesterday being treated as the traitors.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Patriot”
literary devices are essential literary tools used in poetic or prose writings to make the texts beautiful and worth reading. The analysis of these devices in the poem “The Patriot” as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “It was roses, roses, all the way”, /a/ in “The church-spires flamed, such flags they had” and the sound of /e/ in “Had I said, “Good folk, mere noise repels—.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /m/ in “myrtle mixed.”
- Anaphora: The poem shows the use of anaphora as the repetition of “Thus I…” in the first verse of the last stanza as “Thus I entered and Thus I go!”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /m/ in “With myrtle mixed in my path like mad:”, /f/ and /s/ in “The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,” and the sound of /n/ and /s/ in “But give me your sun from yonder skies!”.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun
To give it my loving friends to keep!
Nought man could do, have I left undone:
And you see my harvest, what I reap
This very day, now a year is run.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “Just a palsied few at the windows set;”, “A rope cuts both my wrists behind;” and “Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun.”
- Juxtaposition: The poem shows the juxtaposition of opposing ideas in the first three and last three stanzas such as noise and silence and welcome and adieu.
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphor such as the air that breaks into mist which means the air is like a bamboo stick or old walls are like the swings.
- Personification: The poet has shown the use of air and old walls as if they have life and emotions of their own. He has personified them.
- Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked to receive an answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. The poem shows the use of a rhetorical question such as;
“In triumphs, people have dropped down dead.
“Paid by the world, what dost thou owe
“Me?”—God might question; now instead,
‘Tis God shall repay: I am safer so.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of flames, noise, and then silence to show the sudden political upheavals.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Patriot”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABABC rhyme scheme that lasts until the end.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are six stanzas in this poem with each having total of five verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The Patriot” are relevant to use when teaching about the changing political situations in third world countries to the students of Political Science class.
Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun
To give it my loving friends to keep!
Nought man could do, have I left undone:
And you see my harvest, what I reap
This very day, now a year is run.
