Fast Rode the Knight
Fast Rode the Knight - meaning Summary
Chivalry's Empty Triumph
The poem contrasts a dramatic, heroic charge with a stark, neglected aftermath. It opens with a vigorous knight charging to save his lady, banners and armor flashing, then shifts to the ruined consequence: a exhausted, bleeding horse left at the castle wall and ultimately dead. The compressed narrative highlights the distance between public spectacle and private cost, suggesting heroism’s visible glory but hidden, often ignored toll.
Read Complete AnalysesFast rode the knight With spurs, hot and reeking, Ever waving an eager sword, "To save my lady!" Fast rode the knight, And leaped from saddle to war. Men of steel flickered and gleamed Like riot of silver lights, And the gold of the knight's good banner Still waved on a castle wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . A horse, Blowing, staggering, bloody thing, Forgotten at foot of castle wall. A horse Dead at foot of castle wall.
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