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UNRELIABILITY of the narrator - the narrator is the only one who
presents his entire perspective on the incident. There is no evidence
to support his claims, and his judgement of the woman’s character
and that of the friend can be considered misperceived due to the
conflicts in his own character. There is only one speaker and due to
this, his judgements about the other characters comes out as a
one-sided opinion.
The narrator includes subjective notes when he portrays the character
of the mistress and his friend (eg: ‘wanton eyes’ for the mistress and
‘maiden face’ for the friend) He tries to portray the woman as a
huntress or a predator, someone who tricks a man with her wiles and
schemes as well as a promiscuous woman (‘Twas quenching a dozen
blue-flies’ thirst” - suggesting she was enjoyed by many lovers).
Meanwhile, he portrays the friend as a weak prey, as someone who
possesses pre-wordly innocence and must be protected from harm.
He is very clever in his portrayal of both the characters, trying to paint
a picture in the reader’s mind before they have time to analyse the
characters themselves. However, this being a dramatic monologue,
the narrator cannot help his words growing out of the situation. He
calls himself an eagle, due to his fame and high social standing and
he calls his friend a wren, due to his maiden face and weak
personality. Through this comparison, he is insulting his friend. This
act is at odds with his claim to ‘save’ his friend from the mistress. This
would lead one to assume that one of his intentions for meddling in
the situation was to prove his superiority to his friend and to the world.
The narrator is self-aware, he is able to anticipate the reader’s
reaction as he is conscious of what he is coming off as to the reader.
In the beginning of the poem, he displays an aloof confidence (for
instance when he says ‘you look away and your lip is curled? Patience
- a moment’s space!’) - however, towards the end, we see this fading
as he confesses his actions were not heroic. He also anticipates how
, the friend and mistress shall both, rightfully, perceive him as
treacherous and untrustworthy. Further, he also mentions how he
would have no answer if the woman were to ask him of the wrong she
has done for him to treat her like this. (conflict 1)
The narrator makes sure to express to the reader how easy it was for
him to acquire the woman/make her his. (‘just a touch to try and off it
came’ and ‘round she turned for my noble sake and gave me herself
indeed’) Now that the woman is his, he wonders if he could let her go.
He compares the woman to a pear late basking over a wall - this
comparison suggests a very physical aspect of love, which is spoken
about more than the emotional aspect. He does harbour a certain lust
for the woman, but he has no mind to be with her as a semblance of
honour to his friend. If he were to abandon the woman, he wonders if
that act would help him redeem himself.
Leads one to presume that the true intention of the narrator was to
establish his superiority to his friend, although he is convinced that he
saved his friend from a terrible fate of heartbreak. Harbouring a lust for
the woman is not the same as wanting to be with her - so he excuses
his action of abandoning her as a way of honouring his friend.
Which do you pity the most - perhaps the friend who was bereft of a
love and betrayed by his friend. According to the narrator, the friend
was on a path of improvement in his life. This is one of the reasons
the narrator wished to protect him from the huntress. But, later on we
realise that the friend is now filled with anger and resentment towards
the narrator - these negative emotions would deter him from the path
of improvement. Perhaps the ‘heartbreak’ the friend would have been
subjected to by the mistress would have been a good lesson which
helped him on his journey of improvement. By presuming what was
better for his friend, and taking actions accordingly, the narrator
created unwanted rifts and disturbed the natural way of things. The
friend is left feeling betrayed and love-less and may garner sympathy
from the reader.
Or perhaps the woman might be pitied the most - the woman’s lifestyle
is frowned upon and she is called ‘a light woman’, someone with a
UNRELIABILITY of the narrator - the narrator is the only one who
presents his entire perspective on the incident. There is no evidence
to support his claims, and his judgement of the woman’s character
and that of the friend can be considered misperceived due to the
conflicts in his own character. There is only one speaker and due to
this, his judgements about the other characters comes out as a
one-sided opinion.
The narrator includes subjective notes when he portrays the character
of the mistress and his friend (eg: ‘wanton eyes’ for the mistress and
‘maiden face’ for the friend) He tries to portray the woman as a
huntress or a predator, someone who tricks a man with her wiles and
schemes as well as a promiscuous woman (‘Twas quenching a dozen
blue-flies’ thirst” - suggesting she was enjoyed by many lovers).
Meanwhile, he portrays the friend as a weak prey, as someone who
possesses pre-wordly innocence and must be protected from harm.
He is very clever in his portrayal of both the characters, trying to paint
a picture in the reader’s mind before they have time to analyse the
characters themselves. However, this being a dramatic monologue,
the narrator cannot help his words growing out of the situation. He
calls himself an eagle, due to his fame and high social standing and
he calls his friend a wren, due to his maiden face and weak
personality. Through this comparison, he is insulting his friend. This
act is at odds with his claim to ‘save’ his friend from the mistress. This
would lead one to assume that one of his intentions for meddling in
the situation was to prove his superiority to his friend and to the world.
The narrator is self-aware, he is able to anticipate the reader’s
reaction as he is conscious of what he is coming off as to the reader.
In the beginning of the poem, he displays an aloof confidence (for
instance when he says ‘you look away and your lip is curled? Patience
- a moment’s space!’) - however, towards the end, we see this fading
as he confesses his actions were not heroic. He also anticipates how
, the friend and mistress shall both, rightfully, perceive him as
treacherous and untrustworthy. Further, he also mentions how he
would have no answer if the woman were to ask him of the wrong she
has done for him to treat her like this. (conflict 1)
The narrator makes sure to express to the reader how easy it was for
him to acquire the woman/make her his. (‘just a touch to try and off it
came’ and ‘round she turned for my noble sake and gave me herself
indeed’) Now that the woman is his, he wonders if he could let her go.
He compares the woman to a pear late basking over a wall - this
comparison suggests a very physical aspect of love, which is spoken
about more than the emotional aspect. He does harbour a certain lust
for the woman, but he has no mind to be with her as a semblance of
honour to his friend. If he were to abandon the woman, he wonders if
that act would help him redeem himself.
Leads one to presume that the true intention of the narrator was to
establish his superiority to his friend, although he is convinced that he
saved his friend from a terrible fate of heartbreak. Harbouring a lust for
the woman is not the same as wanting to be with her - so he excuses
his action of abandoning her as a way of honouring his friend.
Which do you pity the most - perhaps the friend who was bereft of a
love and betrayed by his friend. According to the narrator, the friend
was on a path of improvement in his life. This is one of the reasons
the narrator wished to protect him from the huntress. But, later on we
realise that the friend is now filled with anger and resentment towards
the narrator - these negative emotions would deter him from the path
of improvement. Perhaps the ‘heartbreak’ the friend would have been
subjected to by the mistress would have been a good lesson which
helped him on his journey of improvement. By presuming what was
better for his friend, and taking actions accordingly, the narrator
created unwanted rifts and disturbed the natural way of things. The
friend is left feeling betrayed and love-less and may garner sympathy
from the reader.
Or perhaps the woman might be pitied the most - the woman’s lifestyle
is frowned upon and she is called ‘a light woman’, someone with a
