The Patriot

 

The Patriot

The Patriot – An Old Story is a poem written in Browning’s typical manner as it mirrors his murkiness, profound religiosity, and powerful confidence. This poetry is about a man who was once perceived as their legend and was valued and could fulfill anything that he favored in whichever way, but is later misjudged and is dismissed by the general population and is sentenced to death. He admits that he is sentenced to death for the wrong reasons and has faith and trust in God that he will be spared from general society’s misconstrued perspectives. He says that he is safe in paradise, and therefore this demonstrates that he inherently believes that he is correct, regardless of the public opinion. The theme of the poem is universally applicable as it touches upon the subject of the downfall of great men. Power and glory are impermanent and never lasts forever.

 Passage - 1

 1. It was roses, roses,................"...."and afterword, what else?"

i) The speaker of the above lines is a national hero. He is  looked upon as a patrior. He is given a rousing welcome when he comes Roses are strewn all over his path in his  honour. 

 

ii) This line tells us that the speaker is talking of a pasr event-an event that happened exacty a year ago.

 

iii) Alliteration is the figure of speech used in this iinc, 'm' sound is repeared thrice-'myrtle", mixed and 'mad'.

 

iv) 'They' in the line given above refe: to the crowd of people who had gathered to welcome the speaker. This line indicates hero worship. People are so inoxicated with enthusiasm that they are willing to go any extent to serve their hero. 

 

v) The speaker was given a most astonishing reception. Almost everybody came to welcome him. Roses mixed with martyl were showered on him.The flags were erected on the top of the church, and bells run to his arrival.

 

Passage - 2

i) The speaker is 'I' in the above extract. The sun implies the most difficult object to attain. Leaping at the sun alludes to the mythical story of lcarus. He glued wings with wax and tried to reach the sun. But the heat of the sun melted the wax and lcarus fell to his death.

 

ii) The speaker was over-ambitious. He wanted power. He tried to over-reach his objective. He did something impossibte for the people. But the people proved ungrateful. They turned against him. He is being treated as a traitor. So the speaker regrets having helped them. The word 'Alack!' tells us this. 

 

iii)  The speaker is refering to the reward he got for serving his  people. He is dishonoured and is being led to the gallows  like a criminal. 

 

iv) The speaker trusted people. He calls them loving friends. But his friends turned their backs on him in the hour of his adversity. Nobody is there to comfort and console him. They cannot be considered 'Ioving'.

 

v) The poet feels sad about the past. He recalls the events of the year past with a heavy heart. He regrets having served people who loved him a years ago but hate him. Despite hrs sadness, he is optimistic. He hopes he will be rewarded for his service in heaven.

 

Passage - 3

i) A year ago the house tops were crowded with people. Almost everybody was there to have a glimpse of him. But everything has changed over a year's time. The house tops are empty. People have gone to the scaffold to watch him being hanged.

 

ii) The speaker was everybody's darling hero a year ago. They showered roses on him when he arrived. But the speaker has done something so bad that everybody hates him. Instead of roses stones are pelted on him.

 

iii) People hero-worshipped the speaker a year ago. They  looked upon him as a patriot and their savior. Now they  look upon him as a traitor. They hate him, and want to see  him hanged soon. 

 

iv) The scene at the gallows is referred to as the best of the sight. People are not eager to see him led through the streets. They are eager to see him draged to on the streets and hanged at the gallows. 

 

v) The speaker hands are tied behind his back and he is being dragged through the streets of gallows. Probably he has commited something grave. But the poet does not tell about the misdeed the speaker did.So , it cannot be determined that the punishment is justified. But speaker thinks it is unjust.

 

Passage - 4

 

i) "I" , the speaker is being led to gallows because he is going to be hanged. 'Rain' symbolises misery and misfortune here. The speaker is drenched to a bone and looks very miserable.

 

ii) The speaker is treated in most inhuman way. He is treated like a most hateful traitor. His hands are tied so tightly that ropes are cutting his skin.

iii) The speaker's forehead is bleeding becuase someone has flung a stone on him.His hands are tied so tightly that he can not move his hand. So , he cannot touch his blood but feel it flowing down. Earlier , a year ago , roses not stones were showered.

 

iv) The mood of the people changes like wind. Just a year ago people game his hero's welcome and loved him.But in short period of time the tied has turned. The speaker has fallen from their favour and beign led to gallows.

 

v) The speaker says that he is being punished for his year's misdeed. But he does not clarify the misdeeds. He says that he being unjustly punished. It appears he don't think he has done any wrong.

 

Passage - 5

 

 i) A year ago the speaker entered the town to a hero's welcome. Now he is going out of the town to be hanged.

 

ii) The speaker means to say that some peopie died while they were still glorified. Thus they were rewarded by the world. The poet has used alliteration. The’d’ sound in 'dropped down dead' is repeated.

 

iii) The speaker says that he has served the people, but the people did not reward him. Rather, they are going to hang him. Now he is safer. God is indebted to him. He will reward him. Had he been reward here below, he could not hope to get any reward in heaven.

 

iv) Browning could see light even in the darkest situation. The speaker is going to be hanged still he is not gloomy. He is full of hope. He hopes God will reward him in "heaven.

 

v) There are hundreds of examples in history to show how people rose from a scratch to glory  and power, and how most popular and powerful peopl sank into oblivion. The speaker was the hero of the  people but in year's time he fell from people's favour. 

 

EXTRA Questions and Answers.

Stanza 1

Read the above lines and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Explain with reference to the context.
Answer:
This is stanza has been taken from the poem Patriot into Traitor” written by Robert Browning.This poem is a criticism of politics and people’s opinion. When a leader comes into power, people call him a patriot. When he is dethroned, the same leader is considered a traitor. This is the tragedy of modern politics. The leader in this poem fell a victim to the same state of affairs. When he came into power, people showered flowers at him as a patriot. But after a year, they declared him a traitor, when he was no more in power. They took him to the gallows. But Browning has ended his poem not on a tragic, rather on a next world optimistic note.

In these lines the  poet says through the mouth of a political leader, when for the first time, only one year ago, on that very day, he came to power, the people gave him a very  warm welcome. There were roses mixed with myrtle flowers which people spread on his way through and through. The house-tops were crowded with people and they were moving and swinging like mad people. Also they were so happy as if they were mad. The minarets and domes of churches were shining with light. These churches were decorated with colourful flags. All this was on that very day when the politician came into power and it took place only one year ago.

Question 2.
By which flower was the patriot welcomed?
Answer:
He was welcomed with roses and myrtles.

Question 3.
When was the patriot welcomed?
Answer:
The patriot was welcomed a year ago.

Question 4.
“The house-tops seemed to heave and sway”. Explain
Answer:
The heaving and swaying motion creates an image of overcrowding, emblematic of our speaker’s importance. It suggests that he is a celebrated figure – one that everyone wants to see.

Stanza 2

Read the above lines and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Explain with reference to the context.
Answer:
This is stanza has been taken from the poem Patriot into Traitor” written by Robert Browning.This poem is a criticism of politics and people’s opinion. When a leader comes into power, people call him a patriot. When he is dethroned,-the same leader is considered a traitor. This is the tragedy of modern politics. The leader in this poem fell a victim to the same state of affairs. When he came into power, people showered flowers at him as a patriot. But after a year, they declared him a traitor, when he was no more in power. They took him to the gallows. But Browning has ended his poem not on a tragic, rather on a next world optimistic note.

When the people were given him a warm welcome they rang bells and raised slogans. These different voices mingled with one another and produced a sort of music.The air became misty and heavy because of the noisy slogans and the ringing bells. The slogans of the crowd were so heavy and loud that the adjacent walls of the road-side houses trembled with various cries and noise of the crowd. These people were welcoming him so happily that if he had told them that mere noise and slogans did not please him. And that they should give him the sun, that is there in the sky far away from them , they would have replied, that was executed (done and what else they could do for him ‘the leader’.

Question 2.
What did the patriot want form the “Good folks”?
Answer:
The patriot said “give me your sun from yonder skies”.

Question 3.
Explain“And afterward, what else?”
Answer:
“And afterward, what else?” adds to the image of endless love that the speaker received from the public. Browning includes the voice of the crowd here to indicate that the speaker is not exaggerating, and it makes his fall from glory even more tragic.

Stanza 3

Read the above lines and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Explain with reference to the context.
Answer:
This is stanza has been taken from the poem Patriot into Traitor” written by Robert Browning.This poem is a criticism of politics and people’s opinion. When a leader comes into power, people call him a patriot. When he is dethroned, the same leader is considered a traitor. This is the tragedy of modem politics. The leader in this poem fell a victim to the same state of affairs. When he came into power, people showered flowers at him as a patriot. But after a year, they declared him a traitor, when he was no more in power. They took him to the gallows. But Browning has ended his poem not on a tragic, rather on a next world optimistic note.

In these lines the leader regretfully says that the people did not help him, instead, it was he who leaped at the sun and made impossible, possible for them. He brought the sun down and handed it over to his dear friends (country men). He made, .them realize that every impossible could be made possible for sincere friends. As such he made every effort and did not leave any thing undone for them. Had he left anything undone, nobody else would have done that for them. But he further says with great sorrow that today when only one year has lapsed and that he is no more in chair, his reward can be seen. It can also be seen what he is reaping as a reward of his deeds. He has been branded as a traitor by the people of his nation.

Question 2.
Comment on the tone of the Patriot in this stanza.
Answer:
Throughout the whole of stanza, the patriot is reflecting and thinking . He states, ‘Nought man could do, have I left undone’. He feels he did everything he could have possibly done. We gather he also has power, ‘what I reap’ illustrating how he has collected his rewards from the work he has done.

Question 3.
What does the word ‘harvest ‘ connote here?
Answer:
Harvest, here means reward.

Stanza 4

Read the above lines and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Explain with reference to the context.
Answer:
This is stanza has been taken from the poem Patriot into Traitor” written by Robert Browning.This poem is a criticism of politics and people’s opinion. When a leader comes into power, people call him a patriot. When he is dethroned, the same leader is considered a traitor. This is the tragedy of modem politics. The leader in this poem fell a victim to the same state of affairs. When he came into power, people showered flowers at him as a patriot. But after a year, they declared him a traitor, when he was no more in power. They took him to the gallows. But Browning has ended his poem not on a tragic, rather on a next world optimistic note.

In these lines the poet mourns that nobody can be seen on the housetops to welcome him now. It is quite opposite to the scene when he was received by them. Now there are only a few people, who are rather paralyzed and are standing at the windows. Now they are watching a different sight. This sight is a sort of ridicule and everybody agrees to it.

Obviously, the sight is horrible because the leader is now being taken to the slaughter­ house, or it can be better said, the leader thinks, that he is being taken to the gallows to be hanged there. It is all the reward of his good deeds. His deeds have been converted into wicked deeds and people are now punishing him for his supposed misdeeds.

Question 2.
What is ‘shamble’?
Answer:
Shamble is a slaughter house.

Question 3.
What is ‘scaffold’?
Answer:
‘Scaffold’ is the place where the criminals are hanged.

Question 4.
Why does Browning say that the palsied watched the execution?
Answer:
Browning described the people watching the execution as ‘palsied’. Only the old and riddled with disease could be bothered enough to watch the hanging. This contrasts with the importance of the man: a man of power would have many watch his death. It’s all gone wrong as nobody is on the roof tops.

Stanza 5
Read the above lines and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Explain with reference to the context.
Answer:
This is stanza has been taken from the poem Patriot into Traitor” written by Robert Browning.This poem is a criticism of politics and people’s opinion. When a leader comes into power, people call him a patriot. When he is dethroned, the same leader is considered a traitor. This is the tragedy of modern politics. The leader in this poem fell a victim to the same state of affairs. When he came into power, people showered flowers at him as a patriot. But after a year, they declared him a traitor, when he was no more in power. They took him to the gallows. But Browning has ended his poem not on a tragic, rather on a next world optimistic note.

In these lines the poet also mopes over his sad condition. He says that the people are carrying him to the gallows in the rain. They unnecessarily, have tied his hands behind his back with a tight rope. When they are taking him to the slaughter-house, the rope cuts his both hands at wrists. The culprit (the leader) feels that his fore-head is bleeding. This is because everybody in his right sense is throwing stones at him. Everybody feels that he has done nothing for his countrymen. Every person has turned against him and the achievements of his past one year have been changed to misdeeds. This means they have forgotten his service to them and they are now punishing him for his good work for them.

Question 2.
Which line is a contrast to the welcome he had received.
Answer:
The lines are:

For they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones at me for my year’s misdeeds.
In spite of this self-sacrifice, the good deeds are seem to be oft been forgotten.

Question 3.
What does the rain imagery signify?
Answer:
It is a pathetic fallacy and helps to add to the depressed mood, and could be argued to be emblematic of the speaker’s inner-cries and sadness. As well as making the patriot wet it also reduces his dignity. The rain can also be seen to symbolise how the patriot is innocent as he is washed clean. As well as this, rain in general represents corruption creating a negative tense mood. This describes the public who are clearly corrupt for hanging somebody who has doing nothing wrong.

Stanza 6

Read the above lines and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Explain with reference to the context.
Answer:
This is stanza has been taken from the poem Patriot into Traitor” written by Robert Browning.This poem is a criticism of politics and people’s opinion. When a leader comes into power, people call him a patriot. When he is dethroned, the same leader is considered a traitor. This is the tragedy of modem politics. The leader in this poem fell a victim to the same state of affairs. When he came into power, people showered flowers at him as a patriot. But after a year, they declared him a traitor,, when he was no more in power.
They took him to the gallows. But Browning has ended his poem not on a tragic, rather on a next world optimistic note.

In the given lines the poet, through the mouth of the deposed leader says that he was brought honorably to the chair and with great pomp and show but now he is being taken very insultingly to the gallows. He says sometimes great heroes fall from their climax and die. Such has not happened to him. Had he died in the peak of his power, he would have been happy. Further the leader ridiculously says that heroes can not expect reward from God in the next world because they get their reward in this world. In his case people have not done him justice. They have killed him. He says after death he will go to his Lord Creator where God Might question him about his deeds he had done for the people. He would reply that he had done his best for them but they rewarded him with shame. Now he will ask God for a reward because God is just and He would give him the best reward – in the other world for his service to his people. He would be safe with God in the work  here after.

Question 2.
Give an example of Antithesis from the poem ‘The Patriot: An Old Story.’
Answer:
“Thus I entered, and thus 1 go!” is an example of antithesis.

Question 3.
How did the leader come and go?
Answer:
The leader came like a patriot and went like a traitor.

Question 4.
What type of poetic piece ‘The Patriot: An Old Story’ is?
Answer:
‘The Patriot: An Old Story’ is a dramatic monologue.

Question 5.
Can one see the faith of humans in God in the poem?
Answer:
The poem is about human predicament.Good deeds are not often rewarded or appreciated in this world. People with religious belief find solace in the hope that they will be rewarded with paradise. The poet has effectively used the metaphor of calcification Jesus Christ and the poem reminds the life of Gandhiji, Lincon etc.