Poetry · Chapter
Canto IV explained
In the aftermath of a violent storm, Dymer encounters a dying man in the forest who recounts the revolution that erupted after Dymer killed his master and fled the Perfect City.
What happens
In the aftermath of a violent storm, Dymer encounters a dying man in the forest who recounts the revolution that erupted after Dymer killed his master and fled the Perfect City. The man describes the chaos, bloodshed, and betrayal that followed, led by the hunchback Bran, and how he himself was mutilated and left to die. Dymer listens in silence, stone-faced, as dawn approaches.
Themes in this chapter
Rebellion and Individualism
The revolution is sparked by Dymer's individual act of defiance, but descends into mob violence and tyranny.
War and Suffering
The dying man's account vividly depicts the horrors of civil war, torture, and mutilation.
Illusion vs. Reality
The ideal of the Perfect City is shattered by the brutal reality of revolution and its aftermath.
Characters to notice
- Dymer
Sits silently beside the dying man, listening to the story of the revolution he inadvertently sparked.
- Bran
The red-haired hunchback who led the revolutionary mob after Dymer's escape, described as forceful and ruthless.
- the Master
Mentioned as the man Dymer struck dead in the Perfect City, triggering the uprising.
Key passages
“There is a City which men call in scorn / The Perfect City—eastward of this wood— / You've heard about the place. There I was born.”
The dying man tells Dymer he was born in the so-called Perfect City, east of the forest.
Introduces the setting of the revolution.
“This Dymer, this fool baby pink-and-white, / Went mad beneath his quiet face. One day, / With nothing said, he rose and laughed outright / Before his master: then, in all our sight, / Even where we sat to watch, he struck him dead / And screamed with laughter once again and fled.”
The man describes how Dymer suddenly killed his master and fled, triggering the chaos.
Key event that sets the revolution in motion.
“Our leader was a hunchback with red hair / —Bran was his name.”
The dying man identifies Bran as the leader of the revolutionary mob.
Introduces Bran as a central figure in the uprising.
“They cut away my two hands and my feet / And laughed and left me for the birds to eat.”
The man recounts being mutilated and abandoned by his former comrades.
Illustrates the brutality and betrayal within the revolution.