The Patriot Character Analysis
The Patriot by Robert Browning. :-
Characters
The only character in the story is the speaker who presents everything from his perspective. Based on his speech, we can also deduce the nature of the public.
The speaker
The speaker of the poem is the patriot referred to in the title of the poem.
He considers himself to be a true patriot who "leaped at the sun" for the sake of "loving friends". Even when public opinion goes against him and he is not looked up to as a patriot anymore, he does not doubt himself. However, as the poem is a monologue, readers cannot verify if the speaker truly is a patriot.
The speaker reveals his nostalgic side through his detailed description of the hero's welcome he received a year earlier. He seems to remember every detail of that day.
The speaker evidently believes in God. This is why he is able to remain hopeful even while walking towards his death. He believes that God would judge him justly, unlike the people. This unwavering belief of the speaker makes readers develop some sympathy for him even though the poem is ambiguous about the nature of his misdeeds.
The public
The public in the poem is presented as ungrateful and fickle-minded. The poet highlights this by presenting sharply contrasting images of the public. Initially, they worship the speaker and welcome him with pomp and ceremony. But in just a year, they change their opinion and become a stone-pelting mob that is happy to see the speaker going to the gallows. They seem to have forgotten everything the speaker did for them.
Since readers only hear the speaker's version of the story, it is difficult to determine whether this characterisation of the public is fair.
1. Question and Answers RTCs: http://the-patriot-question-and-answers
2. Context and Summary: http://the-patriot-context-and-summary
3. Themes, Setting, Form and Structure: http://the-patriot-themes-setting-form
4. Literary Devices and Literary Style (Figures of Speech): http://the-patriot-figures-of-speech
5. Character Analysis: http://the-patriot-character-analysis
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