Theme of the Poem The Patriot
In the poem the poet presents to us the working capacity of the minds of the common people who are not determined to their thoughts, feelings, principles and opinions. As the people are fickle-minded, they are soon inclined to change their loyalties, opinions and attitudes. They are sentimental and emotional. They are neither rational nor reasonable. Mostly they are carried away by their emotions and thus they find themselves unable to find or to judge what is right or wrong.
Under the great impact of emotions, they do not follow the guidance of their intellect. In the poem, the poet shows that only a year ago, the patriot was acknowledged as god-like by the public. He was given a hero’s welcome on his arrival in the town, but after a year, the situation had been changed. The patriot was being taken to the scaffold to be hanged. The people had grown indifferent towards him. They had changed their loyalties at other place. In these changed circumstances, the people had no love and respect for him, but they were full of contempt for him. This change in the attitude of the people in the two contrasted situations clearly displays the fickle-mindedness of the people.
Next the poet brings to us a truth that nothing is stable in this world. It is also true to the rise and fall of glory. Someone who rises high and touches the summit of glory, cannot remain at the top for longer and his downfall is certain. The circumstances are not always same, they are changing. The same thing takes place with the patriot who, a year ago, was welcomed, by the public with roses and myrtles and after a year the same public hurls stones at him because he was not in power and was declared a traitor.
Being overambitious is also very dangerous. It invites the downfall. It was patriot’s overambitiousness that during his glory he could not think of his downfall. What led him towards his downfall was his wanting ambition. It can be deduced that the speaker took a step too far and it was his error that led him to cross the boundaries and consequently lose popularity.
The poem like Browning’s other poems also strikes the note of optimism. The concluding stanza of the poem reflects the optimistic attitude of the poet. The patriot is going to be executed. It is a very grim scene. He is humiliated and disgraced. In this state he awaits his death. It is really very disappointing that the partriotic deeds of a devotee of his country are declared as political offences and their reward is death. Browning’s philosophy of faith and hope in God snatches victory out of defeat. He thinks that God alone is true judge and he would not care for the persons who have been duly rewarded in this world and have, therefore, pinned no hope in the future.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers