English Literature Internal Assessment 2

Name- Chhavi Talele

Class- 10
Division- Marigold
Roll No- 14

‘Human memory is short and terribly fickle.’ Discuss this statement in light of Robert Browning’s
poem, ‘The Patriot’. Describe the Patriot’s thoughts at the end of the poem. Explain to what extent
you agree/ disagree with the Patriot.

Robert Browning’s poem ‘The Patriot’ is a reflection of the rapidity with which a hero’s fortune can
be changed. It describes the rise and fall of a patriot’s fame in which the patriot recounts the
events leading upto his execution. It is the story of reward or punishment meted out to the speaker
of the poem within a year for his services. It has been written in a retrospective tone in the form of
a harsh and critical satire on public’s fickle attitude. It potrays that how love, respect and honour
given to someone is momentary and is subjected to erratic changes. The poem contains quite a lot
of contrasting imagery to dwell on the speaker’s majestic past and unheroic present. Over a year
ago, he was acknowledges as god-like by the public. He was given a hero’s welcome on his arrival
in the town. The same public who were once willing to fetch him the sun are now taking him
towards his end. The same people who threw roses and myrtle on his way a year ago, now make
him bleed by throwing stones at him. Earlier, to welcome the patriot, ‘’ the house-roofs seemed to
heave and sway’’ but it is no longer the same.
History has witnessed the rise and fall of many such ‘patriots’ throughout its course. It is a grim
reminder that life is uncertain and people are fickle. We all must feel sympathy for the patriot all
while loathing the fickle- mindedness of the people. Since the poem never tells us the reason for
the patriot’s execution, we do not know if the speaker has committed a treacherous act or not as it
is never made explicit. The narrator gaps within the poem suggest that he is hiding something
sinister. His innocence has been cleverly depicted by Browning, through his sense of resignation
in the end. Even if the patriot did something evil, it does not hurt to sympathise because we know
that he is going to die soon. A dying person is truthful and at their rawest in their last moments,
thus we know the patriot’s passionate thoughts on the fickle-mindedness of his friends, followers
and folks. Death is a huge deal and accepting it is even bigger. We can call the patriot brave for
accepting his fate instead of putting a fight, which I suspect he must have tried before giving
himself up to God. Humans change sides and opinions and it is not a bad thing, it indicates
change which is necessary for us all to evolve. Don’t we all change our opinions on people once
we get to know them? Even if one does a crime or a hurtful act, it does not justify the ill treatment
thrown to them in acts of revenge.
The Patriot’s thoughts at the end of the poem are full of his faith in God and his optimism. He uses
the story of Icarus to describe the ambition of man and its consequences. The patriot feels that he
carried out everything he could: ‘’Nought man could do, have I left undone.’’ Even though the
world thinks that he has done something wrong, he knows that he has done everything he could,
which indicates that he tried to fight back and sought out his justice but was shunned down. He
believes that death is not the end and hopes that since he did not receive a reward for the work he
had done in the world, he will be rewarded by God. He feels safer with God, rather than with the
public. The Poet saying that God is on the Patriot’s side is a clear indication of the fact that God
loves and forgives all.
Despite the Poet’s attempts at depicting his innocence, I do think that the Patriot could have been
in the wrong and thus disagree with him. This can be indicated through a line in stanza three, ‘’And
you see my harvest, what I reap.’’ The Patriot may have ceased to complain about his fellow
public because he knows that he is paying for what he has done. Since we do not know what it
was, we cannot fully declare if he is right or wrong, due to the intense paradoxes in the poem.
Believing what words have been given to us on a silver platter is against the curious nature of
humans, who tend to explore both sides to the coin and hear all opinions. Given the fact that the
Patriot has not revealed what crime he has committed to have his friends turn so harshly on him, it
is rather concerning as it almost absolves the Patriot’s actions.
Therefore, I can say with certainty that I disagree with the Patriot.