"Fast Rode the Knight" by Stephen Crane

Fast 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.

When this poem is first read, many misunderstand it and think it is about supporting war or battle. However it is actually the opposite. Crane uses the chivalry theme to show how one goal can be destructive and how mankind sometimes doesn't realize the price that is being paid. Crane starts the poem describing the way that the knight rides his horse. The man travels with eagerness and blindly chases his goal. I think the main lesson Crane is trying to convey throughout this peom is that the noblest causes can bring brutal sacrifices. By the time we reach the goal, we realize that it was not worth it.

&this is my last poetry response ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!