Critical Appreciation Of The Poem Patriot ICSE Board Class 9, 10 English
English is a difficult subject for many people to learn. Some students may become frustrated and give up, but here’s Critical Appreciation Of The Poem Patriot ICSE Board Class 9, 10 English to help you maintain your momentum! This Critical Appreciation Of The Poem Patriot will provide all necessary information needed in order to study ICSE Board Class 9, 10 English successfully at home or school; it includes detailed grammar rules with examples that were used during today’s class discussion on the ICSE Board English Exam.
The Critical Appreciation Of The Poem Patriot in English, ICSE Class 9, 10 makes it easier to understand the story. Understanding every detail of a story is important for scoring higher on an exam and expert writers have made sure that you know how everything flows together by summarizing perfectly!
About The Poet
Robert Browning is one of the most distinguished poets of the Victorian Era. He was a great poet, playwright and known widely for his mastery of dramatic monologue. Born on May 7, 1812, in Camberwell, a middle-class suburb of London. He was the only son of Robert Browning, who was a penman in the Bank of England and a devoutly spiritual German Scotch mother, Sarah Anna W. Browning.
Much of his education took place at home by his father. His father owned a huge archive with 600 volumes of language which cast a distinct impact on his literary growth. He was inspired by the works of Percy B. Shelley. In 1846, he married Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Robert has a wide variety of works under his name. They include works like Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession, Dramatis Personae(1864), Sordello (1840), My Last Duchess(1842), Fra Lippo Lippi(1855) and et.al. Among his other works, The Ring and the Book (1868-69) was notable.
Ian Jack characterized Browning’s work as a quest for an appropriate poetic form, and his first published endeavour was Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession. His works included with a wide gamut of irony, dark humour, characterization, syntax and historical settings.
He breathed last on 12th December 1889 at Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice, Italy and is buried in the Westminster Abbey.
About The Poem
The Patriot by Robert Browning is a delightful dramatic monologue that throws light on the Politics, Patriotism, Religious morality of the era. It talks about how the true patriots face harsh realities who are true to their sense of patriotism. The sacrifice of such people who were misunderstood by the people. The poet uses a single speaker similar to his poems My Last Duchess and The Last Ride Together. The poem is a monologue of this patriotic fervour of the speaker who was sentenced to death at the Scaffold to be executed publicly for his ‘ misdeeds’.
The poem begins with the Patriot describing the past conditions as to how he was respected and held high. But as the poem progresses, we, at last, find that he is being taken to be executed by the same multitude. This portrays the theme that power and glory are impermanent and which never lasts eternally.
History has witnessed the surge and decline of many such ‘ patriots’ through the course – a grim reminder that life is full of uncertainty. Lastly, the Patriot had to surrender to the grim reality and has to leave forever. Here, Browning enumerates the philosophy of Shakespeare mentioned in his renowned play As You Like It where his ( Shakespeare’s ) sermon brings out the truth of life in the following lines:
“ All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely
players;
They have their exits and their entrances…”
Attaining no true respect in earthly life, the
dejected Patriot hopes to get the respect in God’s company.
Structure Of The Poem
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?”
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.
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.
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.
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.
The poem has a curious structure of a total of 6 stanzas of five lines each. It does not adhere to a strict metre. There are mostly nine syllables in each line. But the musical quality is achieved by the careful placement of words. It contains a clear rhyme scheme– ababa. The Patriot also contains a prodigal use of assonance and consonance. The rhymes used in the poem are end rhymes like ( way, sway);( mad, had);(sun, run) etc. The rhyme scheme is as follows for the whole poem: ABABA CDCDC EFEFE GHGHG HIHIH JKJKJ pattern. This is a 30 lined poem which is divided into sections.
- First and Second Stanza: Describes the conditions of the past of the Patriot.
- Third Stanza: The poet’s disclosure on how and why the conditions changed.
- Fourth and Fifth Stanza: Contrasts the past with the present.
- And the Sixth Stanza is about the Acceptance of fate and being optimistic about the fact that he would get the respect from God which he was yearning for throughout his journey of life.
Literary Devices Of The Poem
There are various literary devices in the poem The Patriot:
1. Alliteration: There are several examples of alliteration I.e close repetition of consonant sounds. They include
· Roses, roses
· Myrtle, mixed
· Dropped down dead
2. Metaphor: The use of roses in the first stanza is symbolic of the love and affection of the people towards him. The warmth of the people is metamorphosed as the roses. Similarly, the ‘Sun’ in the poem is a metaphor for power, glory and respect. Lastly, rain is a reference to despair and trial. Other examples are “ Myrtle mixed in my path like mad”; “And you see my harvest and what I reap”.
3. Personification: It is a figure of speech giving human-like quality to an object. For instance, “The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway”. Here, the house-roofs are personified.
4. Repetition:
“ It was roses, roses all the way”
Thus I entered, and thus I go!
Theme Of The Poem
Rise and Fall:
The the poem begins with a joyful environment which is due to the arrival of the Patriot. He is welcomed with feverish exhilaration and through paths of roses by the townspeople in the first two stanzas. Then as the days passed by, all these glorification and praises faded away and he was stoned and taken down for execution at the Scaffold and humiliated. The act of stoning symbolises hurting the honour which was once enshrined in him. This tells us that this world is nothing but a dynamic, fickle and transient place of existence. Here, the opinion of people changes in an instant, without lending much thought to truth and righteousness.
The Patriot who was once a ‘Hero’ in the eyes of his people. The church “ spired flames” with flags and he was greeted with ringing bells–“ The air broke into a mist with bells”. But by the turn of fate, within a year he was taken by the same multitude for execution. Here, this whole situation of the poem can be referred to the Fall of Icarus and his consequent demise. The hearty welcome was received by Jesus Christ on Palm Sunday and his subsequent crucifixion at Golgotha.
This ensuing Rise and Fall of the Patriot brings out the futility of life and shows that Power and Glory are perishable and never lasts forever. But there is an optimistic note at the end where he yearns for the long-awaited respect and is assured that he would get the same in God’s company.
Questions And Answers
What form of poetry is the patriot?
“The Patriot” is a poem comprising 6 stanzas. Each stanza consists of 5 lines and its rhyming pattern is ababa. It is a dramatic monologue.
What does rain symbolize in the poem The Patriot?
Rain symbolizes loss, death or tears, sadness and sometimes despair as well. In this poem it symbolizes a period of trial.
Where is the Patriot being taken to?
The speaker is being taken to the Shambles’ Gate for executing him.
What is the tone of the poem patriot?
The entire poem is an expression of the speaker’s grief and regret, making the overall tone sorrowful.
What is the moral of the poem The Patriot?
The speaker learnt that people of this world can never judge or pay us for our deeds; it is God who ultimately rewards us or punishes us.
What is the conclusion of the poem The Patriot?
While this poem indicates the ambiguity of life and fortune, it concludes with an optimistic note. The fact that the patriot in the poem turns to God for a fair judgement of his deeds without any regret or shame confirms the justification.
Why is the Patriot full of grief and pain at his harvest ‘?
He was arrested for some misdeeds and was being led to the gallows to be executed in public. He felt sad that people had forgotten all that he had done for them.