All The Tropes

Warrior Poet: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Warrior Poet (view source)

Revision as of 20:08, 14 June 2015

121 bytes removed ,  8 years ago
m
clean up
VisualWikitext
m (update links)
m (clean up)
Line 18:
 
'''Note''':
Do NOT mistake this for [[Cultured Badass]]. That trope is about a [[Badass]] with 'cultured' hobbies, this trope is about a mindset rather than hobbies. For example, a [[Cultured Badass]] can appreciate love poetry but a [['''Warrior Poet]]''' will incorporate that poetry into his daily life and thoughts about warfare. Alternatively, a [[Cultured Badass]] can [[Blood Knight|enjoy battle for the thrill and pleasure]] while a [['''Warrior Poet]]''' will [[Don't Think, Feel|espouse something more mystical and/or spiritual]] Read both descriptions if you need to.
{{examples}}
 
Line 47:
 
== Comic Books ==
* Most of the traits that make up a [[Warrior Poet]] also exist in Destruction of The Endless from Neil Gaiman's series ''[[The Sandman]]''. He abandoned his role as overseer of destruction to try his hand at being creative -- likecreative—like writing poetry and painting pictures... really, really badly.
* In a twisted, delusional, batshit crazy way? [[Watchmen (comics)|Just read Rorschach's journal...]]
* Colossus of the [[X-Men]], when written right, is a poetic soul and more than capable warrior.
Line 72:
* It may be up for discussion, but Michael Corleone could easily qualify. He enjoys his opera, has a child who sings in one, and has a full college education... while ruthlessly fighting his way up the Mafia hierarchy, and eliminating all threats to his family.
* T.E. Lawrence the titual character in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (though he didn't write a whole lot of poetry)
* Horton, of ''[[Horton Hears a Who!]]'', is [[Lampshading|called]] a [[Warrior Poet]] by his friend near the end of the movies.
* D'Artagnan gets the Musketeers to like him in ''[[The Three Musketeers (1993 film)|The Three Musketeers 1993]]'' by tossing out a one-liner.
{{quote|'''D'Artagnan''': I may not wear the tunic, but I believe I have the heart of a Musketeer.
Line 83:
* Most unicorns in ''[[The Firebringer Trilogy]]'' count as this - though they are trained and raised as warriors, they also enjoy the festivities of having one appointed "singer" tell poetic stories of their heritage. Tek in particular is both a fearsome warrior and a talented singer.
* In ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' Denzo D'han, a sellsword of [[Private Military Contractors|The Windblown]], is described in-universe as one.
* Subverted in [[Terry Pratchett|Terry Pratchett's]] book of ''[[Discworld]]'', ''The Wee Free Men'' -- Feegles—Feegles are mostly [[Boisterous Bruiser|Boisterous Bruisers]]s, but to them words cut deeper than any blade. Thus...Gonnagles.
** And again in ''Interesting Times''. Lord Hong is the cleverest person in the Aurient, so it's him who figures out that when choosing someone for a highly specialised position, for instance warrior, it's better to examine them ''on that topic'' than the level of exquisiteness of their seven-line poem about an ethereal white horse floating through a lavender meadow.
* Cao Cao from ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'' is a perfect example. Not only did he conquer most of Northern and Central China, but was also a famous poet who is credited today for starting the Jian'an style of poetry in China.
Line 92:
** And he also threw it into the sea because [[Only the Pure of Heart|he's done so much evil trying to get the silmarils back, he can't touch them anymore without being burned.]]
* Gurney Halleck in ''[[Dune]]'' is a literal example. He is a musician and philosopher with seemingly infinite supply of witticisms for any occasion. He is also a remorseless killer, perfectly willing to cut any Harkonnen he comes across (or anyone who gets on the wrong side of Duke Leto for that matter) into pieces.
* In ''[[War and Peace]]'', a near-death experience turns Prince Andrei from being just a normal [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] to a [[Warrior Poet]].
* Logen Ninefingers from ''[[The First Law]]'', as in the quote at the top of the page. He was a [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan-esque]] adventurer in the past, but in the actual story is a tragic figure hounded by old feuds.
** Most of these old feuds are examples of [[Bullying a Dragon]]. Say one thing about Logen Ninefingers, say he's a hardcore, if reluctant, [[Badass]].
Line 108:
** Fiddler of the Malazan army always carries an instrument with him but never seems to play it. As it turns out, the few times he ''does'' play it the song can touch the hearts of an entire ''city''.
* ''[[The Executioner]]''. Soldier-turned-vigilante Mack Bolan is very well read. Each novel in the series begins with a couple of quotes from a literary work, then a quote from Bolan's [[Diary|journal]] giving his own take on it. His favourite book is ''[[Don Quixote]]'' by Miguel de Cervantes, as Bolan often sees himself as "[[Hopeless War|tilting at windmills]]."
* David Zindell's ''Requiem for Homo Sapiens'' has the Order of Warrior-Poets. Every year they clone ''billions'' of children, whose [[The Spartan Way|educational process]] includes regular fights to the death -- eitherdeath—either via combat, or poetry competitions. Each "graduating class" numbers in the hundreds, if that.
* "[[Star Wars Expanded Universe|Death Star]]" has Nova Stihl, Imperial prison guard, trooper, and master of martial arts, who has Battle Precognition. He's also got a sense for fair play and likes training people. And the [[Porn Stash|stash of illicit holograms]] under his bunk? Dissertations on philosophy. He doesn't think of himself as a particularly deep thinker in the start of the book, though.
* Brandark Brandarkson from [[David Weber]]'s [[The War Gods|War God]] series ''wants'' to be one of these badly. He's got the Warrior part down; it's the Poet part that eludes him. His attempts at poetry are mediocre at best and while a gifted scholar and skilled musician but the less said about his singing voice the better, which is a problem when coming from a society where poets are of the bardic tradition.
Line 123:
* More than a few of the eponymous [[Tank Goodness|supertanks]] of [[Keith Laumer]]'s ''[[Bolo]]'' series qualify.
* Bobby Shaftoe from [[Neal Stephenson|Neal Stephenson's]] ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', a [[Semper Fi|US Marine Raider]] who composes haiku in the face of danger.
* From ''[[Young Wizards|A Wizard Abroad]]'', we have Tualha, the bard who goes into battle and recites epicepic—and -- and insulting -- poetryinsulting—poetry at her enemies. And is a small kitten.
* Both Aubrey and Maturin from the [[Master and Commander]] series. Each has his forte and loves bringing destruction to the enemies of the crown; Aubrey as a more than competent naval officer, Maturin as a spy. Also, they're deadly with blades and guns individually. And in their spare time they wile away the hours playing duets written for violin and cello. And the officers under Aubrey's command also love music and turn their hand to poetry. Frankly, this is [[Truth in Television]], since months sea could get ''boring''.
* In [[Mikhail Akhmanov]]'s ''[[Arrivals From the Dark|Envoy from the Heavens]]'', Ivar Trevelian arrives on a planet to investigate why the local [[Human Alien]] population is stuck in [[Medieval Stasis]] for the better part of a millennium. He disguises himself as a member of the Rhapsod Brotherhood (traveling bards and minstrels), so his travels don't arouse suspicion. Very quickly he finds out that singing and entertaining is not all the rhapsods do. Apparently, they are also highly-skilled warriors, feared and respected throughout the world. When the need arises to dispense justice, they replace their robes and lutes with armor and weapons. Thanks to his own training, Ivar is equal to them in this regard.
* ''[[Heir Apparent]]'': Saint Bruce was a warrior poet./He lived in a cave, don't you know it?/He wrote sonnets and verses,/But never said curses./He'll give you one chance--pleasechance—please don't blow it.
* Anafiel Delaunay of Jacqueline Carey's ''[[Kushiel's Legacy]]'' series.
* The sci-fi short story ''[http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lee_04_10/ Between Two Dragons]'' by Yoon Ha Lee is set in a [[Space Opera]] future where the military leadership are all expected to be warrior poets, so that even messages of defeat have a certain grace to them.
Line 150:
** Other Jaffa have displayed some of these characteristics, but Teal'c and Bra'tac are the prime examples. Most other Jaffa simply fall into the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] category.
** Amusingly, despite his philosophical mindset, Teal'c's cultural interests mainly center on [[Alien Arts Are Appreciated|cheesy Tau'ri Sci-Fi and Action movies]]. Given that [[Genre Savvy]] appears to be a powerful weapon in the [[Stargate Verse]], this makes more sense than it might seem.
* The Brunnen-G of ''[[Lexx]]'' are described as "a race of romantic warriors" or "romantic dreamers", who led the rest of humanity to victory against a civilization of planet-sized insects -- allinsects—all while sporting beehive hairdos and dazzlingly intricate rainbow-colored bodysuits. (Curiously, the only Brunnen-G poet we meet, Poet Man, is a non-conformist who wears drab, colorless clothes and a plain hairstyle.)
** And one of the Divine Shadow brains was a Genocidal Tyrant Poet:
{{quote|'''His Shadow:''' As a result of the fall the evil section of my brain was destroyed. [[Split Personality Takeover|Only my poet half remains.]] I am at peace. Fair lady, would you care to hear a sonnet?}}
Line 157:
* For a while, 'Warrior-Poet' took pride of place as the main word used to describe [[Stephen Colbert]] in the opening credits for [[The Colbert Report]]. (Others include 'Megamerican' and 'Grippy'.) Other than that, he has very little to do with this trope.
** Not necessarily. It could be said that this is how the character Stephen Colbert sees himself: valiant, but also intelligent and refined, while still placing valor before strict reasoning (i.e. his frequent references to "gut" thinking) all of which are common traits of warrior poets. The humor comes in to play because he's actually boorish, bigoted, and fears things such as bears and "Threats to My Heterosexuality."
* Spike, from ''[[Angel]]'' and ''[[Buffy]]''. He spends most of the series as either a big tough bad guy or trying to deny his [[Heel Face Turn]]. In the penultimate episode of ''Angel'', however, he spends his last evening before the [[Final Battle]] drinking and talking big -- actingbig—acting as if he's trying to start a bar-brawl -- butbrawl—but it's all to work up his courage to get up and read his poetry to the audience at the bar. He actually was a poet before he became a vampire, and found himself with the nickname 'William the Bloody' because his poetry was so ''bloody awful''.
** Ironically, the 21st-century crowd applauded the same poem that his 19th-century critics dismissed as 'bloody awful'. Either tastes have changed or everyone at open mic night was plastered.
*** Or both.
Line 208:
== Tabletop Games ==
* The Eldar of ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' exhibit signs of this trope, but here the order rebelled against was not so much dishonorable or brutish war as [[Defector From Decadence|decadence]].
* ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' had the Fianna, which were a tribe of [[Warrior Poet|Warrior Poets]] in what was already a species of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Proud Warrior Race Guys]]s. They supposedly spawned the first werewolf bard in all of existence. They're also just a little bit [[Oireland|Oirish]].
** Speaking of that "werewolf bard", it's actually one of the five Auspices -- theAuspices—the Galliard, born under the gibbous moon, who starts the game with the second-highest Rage rating of all five Auspices, but whose Gifts tend towards communication, inspiration, and passion. They reappear in ''[[Werewolf: The Forsaken]]'' as Cahaliths, and while there are still bardic elements, they're more regarded as prophets.
* The Brujah vampire clan in the Historic [[Old World of Darkness|World of Darkness]] ''Vampire: The Dark Ages'' and to a lesser extent ''Victorian Age Vampire''. By the time of ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' itself, though, they'd lost the poet aspect almost entirely, and were just violent rebels without a cause.
* In ''[[Cthulhu Tech]]'' there are the Nazzadi were specifically created by the Migou to be intelligent ass-kickers, and it shows.
** Also, one of the things that gnaws at the Nazzadi is that as a cloned race with no members chronologically in their 40s, they have no true culture of their own, and are desperate to create one. Therefore, any of the 2nd generation Nazzadi who take up one of the arts are ''highly'' prized by their families and the Nazzadi as a whole.
* The game mechanics of the ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]'' RPG reflect the samurai ideal of a [[Warrior Poet]]. "Levels" (School Ranks) are based off Rings which take the lowest of two statistics; one physical and one mental/spiritual. A truly accomplished samurai thus had to be quite proficient in mental attributes even if he is primarily a warrior (and vice versa). Many of the more sophisticated Bushi (warrior) Schools also offer training in artistic skills along with the more traditional martial fare with the epitome of this philosophy being the Kakita Bushi of the Crane Clan.
* In [[Traveller]] different races have their own martial traditions. The Sword Worlders, for instance, name planets after mythological swords some of which come from the works of a [[J. R. R. Tolkien|famed Terran epic poet]]. The Azhanti have some of the best martial music and provide choirs for the Imperial Duke. Aslan have traditions of epic tales and decorative weaponry. And so on.
 
Line 227:
* Thrall in ''[[Warcraft]] III''. One of the [[Expanded Universe]] novels contains a [[Fictional Document]] which is basically a heroic poem he writes about his own father.
* The backstory for the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Tarth]] species in ''Deadlock: Planetary Conquest'' includes a Tarth named Guh, who lived as a warrior. After he received what he believed to be a mortal wound, he resigned himself to death...until he looked up at one of the planet's moons and saw movement. He regained his will to live and went on to become a famous astronomer. A statue in his honour depicts him impaled on a spear, looking at the sky through a telescope.
* Solid Snake from ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' is a particularly schizophrenic example -- oneexample—one moment he's gunning down countless enemies with brutal efficiency, and the next moment he's [[Contemplate Our Navels|discussing the meaning of life, morality, and nature]], while simultaneously agonizing about the agony of being a soldier.
** To agonize about agony, you must wax lyrical with lyrics which are [[Shaped Like Itself|shaped like themselves]].
*** [[Parrot Exposition|Shaped like themselves?]]
** In terms of literal poetry -- hepoetry—he does deliver legitimately evocative soliloquies at the start of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4'' and at the end of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 2'', although he does have quite a few clunkers at other moments.
* The entire Protoss race from ''[[Starcraft]]'' embody this ideal, having embraced a rigid quasi-religious collectivist social order based on self tempering, personal honor, and obedience, to escape a tumultuous war-filled past. This leads to a peculiar view of warfare, wherein "modern" mass-destructive weapons have been largely shunned in favor of armies of melee combatants and machines of war whose purpose at heart is something else (the few examples to the contrary being regarded as abominable).
* ''[[Betrayal at Krondor]]'' has Gorath, whose [[Warrior Poet]] views are the main point of conflict between him and the rest of his race.
* Wrex of ''[[Mass Effect]]'', who is surprisingly philosophical for your average reptilian [[Heroic Sociopath]] [[Bounty Hunter]]. Ashley Williams as well, in what is actually a quite literal example: she really ''does'' quote poetry. Classical poetry as a matter of fact, and she gets the quotation right, too. She also examines her own religious and philosophical leanings and the impact that space travel and aliens have on the theoretical existence of God.
** There is a Krogan Warrior reciting love poems in the second game.
Line 274:
**** And in case he forgets, Pepperidge Farm remembers.
* Piandao from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is a borderline example. He's knowledgeable about many arts like calligraphy, painting, and landscaping, but apparently practices them [[Wax On, Wax Off|because it helps to make him a better swordsman]].
** There's nothing borderline about [[Cool Old Guy|Iroh]], though. It's a slow reveal, but beneath that patient, tea-loving, belly-laughing, [[Koan]]-spouting surface is a guy who could [[Badass Grandpa|hand an army their asses on a platter]] -- and—and ''does,'' several times. Remember: [[Memetic Badass|when Iroh was in prison, he wasn't pushing himself up -- he was pushing the Fire Nation down.]]
* Bow, [[The One Guy]] and [[The Archer]] from ''[[She-Ra: Princess of Power|She Ra Princess of Power]]'', is a bard in his free time and loves playing his harp.
* An extremely literal example: While everyone in ''[[Visionaries]]'' had [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]] powers, some of them also had magic staves that contained a kind of unique, one-use battle genie. These spirits were released using, of all things, ''rhyming couplets.'' So when the [[Blood Knight]] wanted to wreck a castle, he could summon a monster by holding up his staff and yelling:
Line 288:
* Similiarly, in old Ireland, you couldn't be a great warrior unless you played the harp and mastered ''fidchell'', an ancient Irish board game, somewhat similar to chess.
* Norsemen got great social recognition for being good skalds as well as warriors.
* The medieval knights of Europe were expected to be skilled at poetry, chess, and dancing, as well as following a strict code of chivalry. This may have had something to do with the fact that European knights were also nobles -- suchnobles—such pastimes were probably taught to all noblemen regardless.
** Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, as far as we can tell, worked his way up from penniless Provençal minstrel, to man at arms, to knight, to crusader, and finished out his days as a feudal lord somewhere in the neighborhood of Bulgaria. A sample from one of his most famous works: "Handsome warriors and good fencers/ Sieges and catapults and pikes/ And the destruction of walls, new and antique, And the vanquishing of battalions and towers/ I see and hear, and I cannot get/ anything that would avail me in love!" He's got another poem where each of the five stanzas is in a different language. He was by all accounts a pretty impressive dude.
* [[wikipedia:Don Quixote|Miguel de Cervantes]], the author of ''[[Don Quixote]]'', was a former soldier who [[wikipedia:Miguel de Cervantes#Military service and captivity|lost a hand]] in Lepanto and was held captive for five years.
Line 304:
* [[wikipedia:The Little Prince|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]].
* Patton. Anyone remember in the movie? "Through the travail of ages, midst the pomp and toils of war, have I fought and strove and perished, countless times amongst the stars."
* Saint Ignatius Loyola, along with the fellow founding members of the Society of Jesus. Aka Jesuits. He starts as a [[Genius Bruiser]], finishes as the leader of a whole league of [[Badass Preacher|Badass Preachers]]s.
* When you consider that it was (and still is) a requirement for all Greek men to serve in the military, then ''all'' the ancient Greek philosophers ([[Socrates]], [[Aristotle]], ''etc''.) and playwrights ([[Euripides]], [[Sophocles]], ''etc''.) were [[Warrior Poet|Warrior Poets]]. (In fact, Aeschylus' gravestone spends more time talking about his military successes than about his multi-award-winning literary career.) And since the Greeks fought each other all the time, the image of the "old philosopher" probably means the ones who survived that long were probably pretty good at fighting. To sum up: Socrates probably could have kicked your ass.
* Many Irish rebels were also poets, most notably Patrick Pearse and James Stephens.
* [[Cyrano De Bergerac]]. Although perhaps better known for his fictional exploits, the real Cyrano was a famous writer, a fearsome duelist in a time when duels had been made ''illegal'', and was so dangerous with a sword that his friends nicknamed him the [[Fan Nickname|Devil of Bravery]]. He also alongside d'Artagnan, another tough guy who is better remembered for his [[The Three Musketeers (novel)|life in fiction]].
* Though more famous as a warrior, King [[Richard the Lion Heart]] was also a poet; though only two of his poems survive, his ''routrenge'', ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBhQK8w0ATU Ja Nuns Hons Pris]'' is well-known to connoisseurs of medieval music.
* In the ''Befreiungskrieg'', the German "War of Liberation" from Napoleon's domination, the poet Theodor Körner left a successful play-writing career in Vienna to join the famous ''Freikorps'' of Ludwig von Lützow; he wrote and sang poems for his fellow soldiers, accompanying himself on the guitar. These poems were collected posthumously by his father in the anthology ''Lyre and Sword'' and later set to music by Weber, Schubert, and others.
* The Prince-Bishop of Montenegro, [[The Wise Prince|Petar II Petrovic Njegos]], was his nation's most renowned poet and philosopher -- whenphilosopher—when not indulging in notoriously bloody feuds with the Ottoman Turks. Oh, and he was a [[Church Militant|monk]], nominally at least.
* Most poetry, drama, and music of the Aztecs were written by the battle hardened warriors.
* [[Byronic Hero|George Gordon Lord Byron]], poet and playwright, who took up arms for the cause of Greek independence and died while drilling Alpine troops at Missolonghi.
Gethbot
Bots
10,856

edits

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1288674"