The Patriot (Class XA)
The Patriot by Robert Browning
1)
The poet takes the form of a
‘speaker’ or in this case the character of ‘the patriot’ to share his thoughts
with the audience or a reader.
2)
Monologue: A speech made by one
character.
3)
In this case, the ‘dramatic’ part
refers to the fact that the patriot is expressing his unhappiness over being
lead to his own public hanging.
Themes:
The Patriot by Robert Browning is a
dramatic monologue and personal story of a man’s fall from grace. The poem has
political undertones and reminds us of similar situations in real life where
someone who is once a hero, celebrity or much loved public figure becomes
someone who is hated. The poem describes the fickleness of public opinion.
Stanza 1:
The first stanza narrated by the patriot
describes the incredible welcome he is given in the town. He is welcomed with a
great public celebration, almost like a parade. They throw symbols of love and
admiration in his path. They have gathered to show him their love and
admiration. The use of the past tense in this stanza shows us how his public
celebration took place a year before on the same day.
Roses,
roses all the way-His path is strewn with many roses.
The roses symbolize the love of his
people as well as happiness and celebration
Myrtle- A shrub with white flowers. An
emblem associated with Venus- Roman goddess of love and prosperity.
Mixed
in my path like mad- So much myrtle and roses were
mixed in his path to show their happiness.
House
roofs seemed to heave and sway- There were so many
people gathered on the rooftops to see the patriot that he exaggerates by
saying the weight of all those people made it look like the houses were moving
under the weight of his audience.
Church
spires flamed- spires are conical structures on the
tops of churches. As part of his celebration, many flags were put into the
church spires and they were so many in number that their fluttering made it
seem as though the church spires were on fire.
Stanza
2
The
air broke into a mist with bells- There was so much noise from the church bells
that it seemed to fill the air with a mist.
The
old walls rocked with the crowd and cries.- People’s
noise of celebration made the old walls shake with the noise.
‘Had
I said, ``Good folk, mere noise repels---
But
give me your sun from yonder skies!''’
Paraphrase: Had the patriot said, “ Good
people only your noise is not enough, but give me something as valuable to you
as the sun in the sky beyond”. The sun is symbolic of the patriot’s power. The
people admire him so much they would give him their most valued things and then
ask `And afterward, what else?''
(after we give you the sun we are willing to do even more for you)
Stanza
3
Alack,
it was I who leaped at the sun- Alas it was I who leaped
at the sun. The line alludes to a myth. Where leaping at the sun means to act
with great pride leading to a situation where pride goes before a fall.
Note: The myth of Daedalus and Icarus tells the story of a father and a son who used wings to escape from the
island of Crete. Icarus has become
better-known as the flyer who fell from the sky when the wax that joined his
wings was melted by the heat of the sun.
To
give it my loving friends to keep! - This line refers
to the fact that the patriot only did that act of pride (which is not
specified) to impress his friends.
Naught
man could do, have I left undone: Naught-no. No man
could accomplish as much as he has accomplished.
And
you see my harvest, what I reap - ‘as you sow so shall
you reap’ a line referring to the fact that he has done a bad thing out of
pride and ‘reaped’ punishment for his pride.
This
very day, now a year is run- In a note of irony, his
execution and narration of this poem are taking place on the same day where a
year before he was treated like a hero. And on this same day in the present, he
is being led to his death.
Stanza
4
There’s
nobody on the house-tops now---: This shows that today
there’s nobody to gathered on the rooftops to see him.
Just
a palsied (crippled, unhealthy people)
at the window set;- Only people who are forced to be
at home or are sick watch him from their windows with disinterest.
At
the Shambles’ gate --- People have gathered at the entrance to the gallows (a place for
public hangings) to watch the patriot be hanged.
Or,
better, yet,/ By the very scaffold’s foot, I trow.-
Some also gather for a better view at the scaffold (wooden platform used for the execution of criminals)
I
trow- I believe
Stanza
5
I
go in the rain, and, more than needs,
A
rope cuts both my wrists behind;
This scene is now one of public
humiliation. He walks in the rain, which is also symbolic of his sadness and
grief. There is no need for them to tie his wrist, but they have done so. The
rope is tied so tight that it cuts him.
And
I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds:
The patriot suddenly realizes that his
forehead is bleeding.
For
they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones
at me for my year’s misdeeds.
His forehead is bleeding because people
who once loved and lauded him are now flinging stones at him for his past
year’s mistakes.
Stanza
6
Thus
I entered, and thus I go- He leaves the people to his
execution in almost the same way he had entered, but while the last time he was
paraded in the streets as a hero he is now dragged to his death by the same
people as a criminal.
In
triumphs, people have dropped down dead.
The phrase ‘in triumphs’ refers to
victory. This line is a painful reminder that anything that is once mighty can
always collapse. Nothing great can last forever. In this case, the patriot’s
fame and fortune are brief.
Paid
by the world, what dost thou owe
“Me?”-
He has been paid for his past misdeed
with stones and public humiliation from the rest of the world.
God
might question; now instead
The one consolation that the poet seems
to have is that he no longer answers to mortal men but with his death, at the
scaffold, only God can question whether he was a good man or not.
‘Tis
God shall repay: I am safer so.
The last line reflects Robert Browning’s
own personal beliefs that only God can provide true justice and he feels safer
knowing that with his death he is no longer at the mercy of the vicious public
and safe in the hands of God himself.
Literary devices
in The Patriot
“I go in the rain”
The rain here symbolizes the sadness of
the day and the man’s loss of his pride and dignity and creates a dreary
atmosphere for the day of his hanging.
Juxtaposition:
The image shown an the beginning of the
poem is completely the opposite of the current scene. For example:
The rooftops were swaying with people in
the first stanza, but in the fourth stanza, They are empty. This shows how the Patriot went on
from being loved to being hated.
This effect creates a contrast, which is
one of the central ideas of ‘The Patriot’
Alliteration:
“Roses, roses”
“Myrtle mixed”
“Crowd and cries”
“Dropped down dead”
Alliteration adds rhyme and rhythm to
this poem.
Metaphor:
(Refer to Stanza-wise explanations as well)
Roses and myrtle in the first stanza have
been to symbolize people’s love and affection towards him.
The sun as a metaphor for glory and
immortality is the ultimate symbol of power.
“And you see my harvest, what I reap”. -
A metaphor for his own pride causing his downfall.
Imagery:
Imagery is the use of creating pictures with
words to describe to the reader the state of the patriot’s life:
Some Examples
1: The starting image of celebration and joy contrasting
the dreary image of rain and the execution at the end.
2: The image of the house roofs swaying with
the patriot’s adoring public in contrast with the empty rooftops and instead of
celebrating the very same people are flinging stones at him and eagerly
awaiting his execution.
Questions:
Read
the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
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,
i) What does the speaker describe in
these lines? Describe the atmosphere of the incident that he describes. What
does the third line of the above stanza suggest? (3)
ii) When did the event being recalled
here take place? What is implied by the phrase ‘the church spires flamed’? (3)
iii) What does the speaker go on to ask of ‘the
crowd’? How do they respond to his demand? Why are they willing to do as they
reply?
(3)
iv) Describe the change in the speaker’s
circumstances in the poem since his treatment in the above first stanza.
(3)
v) What reason does the speaker give for
the change in his circumstances after the above stanza? How does the end of the
poem speak about a sense of optimism in spite of the poem’s bleak ending?
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