After Blenheim Character Analysis
Characters
The main characters in the story are Kaspar, an old man, and Wilhelmine and Peterkin, his grandchildren.
Old Kaspar
Old Kaspar represents the common man. He truly believes in the romantic ideals of war. He feels proud about the 'famous victory of the army even though he does not know why the war was fought in the first place. He even refers to Prince Eugene as 'our good Prince Eugene'. Even though 'victory' cost the lives of thousands of innocent people, he believes that these sacrifices and destruction must be a part of every famous victory.
Kaspar does not question commonly held beliefs and blindly accepts whatever he hears. Unlike his grandchildren, he does not even once question why the victory was considered great or famous. He even corrects Wilhelmine who declares that the war was 'a very wicked thing'.
Wilhelmine and Peterkin
Wilhelmine and Peterkin are Old Kaspar's grandchildren.
They are highly inquisitive. They are fascinated by the large, smooth and round object and want to know what it is. When their grandfather explains to them that the object is a skull, they have more questions for him and want to know all about the war.
Wilhelmine and Peterkin are skeptical and do not hesitate to challenge existing beliefs, unlike their grandfather. While Wilhelmine declares that the war seemed to be wicked, Peterkin questions if any good finally came of the war.
Inquisitiveness and the tendency to question things is quite typical of children. Through the characters of Wilhelmine and Peterkin, the poet indirectly rues the lack of these qualities in adults.
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