History Main / WarriorPoet

Traditionally though, poetry and war are complementary pursuits. Poems sing of the glory found in battle. Honor and virtue are on display when men are facing deadly peril. Experiencing death and the horrors of war makes a man contemplate the big questions of life. Often the war is being fought for some greater purpose or cause, such as liberty. Great generals devote their spare time to philosophy, wondering what it all means. Poetry (except free verse) is built on the optimal deployment of limited resources - words that fit together with other words, and with [[BrevityIsWit words that aren't there]] - not unlike the strategic decisions a soldier makes on the battlefield.

** And he also threw it into the sea because [[OnlyThePureOfHeart he's done so much evil trying to get the silmarils back, he can't touch them anymore without being burned.]]
* Aragorn, Elrond, Faramir and Gimli from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
** O heck, almost everybody. Even the Hobbits. Even Samwise. Well he wasn't that ''good'' of a poet, but still...
** Also Eomer, who actually composes poetry on the battlefield in ''The Return of the King''.

* ''Partisans of Vilna'': http://www.moviemars.com/International/CD-Songs-of-WWII-Jewish-Resistance.htm?aff=5111

* Anafiel Delaunay of Jacqueline Carey's ''KushielsLegacy'' series.

* The hippies and civil rights movements produced many philosophers and musicians. Of course this was a non violent war, but it still counts. Especially since only one side was nonviolent. Usually.

* The novelty song/comedy sketch "Boot to the Head (Tae Kwan Leep)" features a martial arts master trying to teach philosophy and mediation to his students. When Ed Gruberman makes it difficult, he shows him why he is the master.

* Killer Bee from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' is actually a warrior ''rapper'', who in fact almost always speaks in rap.

* The hippies and civil rights movements produced many philosophers and musicians. Of course this was a non violent war, but it still counts. Especially since only one side was
nonviolent.

* One [[{{Sikhism}} Sikh hymn compares God to [[UpToEleven every weapon known to the writer]].

* The hippies and civil rights movements produced many philosophers and musicians. Of course this was a non violent war, but it still counts. Especially since only one side was nonviolent.

* Parodied constantly in CalvinAndHobbes as Calvin treats all {{snowball fight}}s as epic wars. One time, he gave a speech about the importance of craftsmanship while meticulously assembling a snowball from just the right kinds of snow (and signing it) before [[strike:throwing it]] getting steamrolled by Suzie, who had used the time to amass a massive snowball arsenal. Another time, he actually consecrated his snowball before throwing it:

* In ''DowntonAbbey'', Sir Anthony Strallan describes Kaiser Wilhelm II[[labelnote:Note]] the man responsible for WWI [[/labelnote]] as this. Edith adds that he may be a poet, but "a poet in need of an army."

* Aragorn, Elrond, Faramir and Gimli from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
** O heck, almost everybody. Even the Hobbits. Even Samwise. Well he wasn't that ''good'' of a poet, but still...

Traditionally though, poetry and war are complementary pursuits. Poems sing of the glory found in battle. Honor and virtue are on display when men are facing deadly peril. Experiencing death and the horrors of war makes a man contemplate the big questions of life. Often the war is being fought for some greater purpose or cause, such as liberty. Great generals devote their spare time to philosophy, wondering what it all means. Poetry (except blank verse) is built on the optimal deployment of limited resources - words that fit together with other words, and with [[BrevityIsWit words that aren't there]] - not unlike the strategic decisions a soldier makes on the battlefield.

* The cyclops Gargarensis, who also happens to be one of the main antagonists of the AgeOfMythology campaigns. For some reason he ''loves'' quoting ''[[GKChesterton Lepanto]]'' during cutscenes.

* Several of the characters in ''BelisariusSeries'', notably Rao.

* Robert Bearclaw, alias Ripclaw, from ImageComics' ''Cyberforce'' is both a BadassNative {{Expy}} of {{Wolverine}} and an avid poet/poetry scholar.

* [[VForVendetta V]] is a rather flamboyant example: superhuman speed and reflexes, check. Awesome hacking skills, check. Suicide-bombing-level of insanity, check. And when he's not fighting? Well he just grows roses, writes songs, and reads so much he can quote Shakespeare, Goethe, or Pynchon by the book and generally behave as a Shakespearean anti-hero, emulating the speech of the playwright's characters to perfection.

If he's the lead he might be a loner, with his fellows unable to understand his way of thinking. It probably also is a way of showing his LoveInterest that he's not just a bloodthirsty barbarian, but actually a sensitive soul who is forced to do horrible things because of the war.

'''Note''':
Do NOT mistake this for CulturedBadass. That trope is about a BadAss with 'cultured' hobbies, this trope is about a mindset rather than hobbies. For example, a CulturedBadass can appreciate love poetry but a WarriorPoet will incorporate that poetry into his daily life and thoughts about warfare. Alternatively, a CulturedBadass can [[BloodKnight enjoy battle for the thrill and pleasure]] while a WarriorPoet will [[DontThinkFeel espouse something more mystical and/or spiritual]] Read both descriptions if you need to. Basically, just because you can write poetry doesn't mean you are a poet.

* Odin in NorseMythology is a patron deity of warriors as well as poets, shamans and magicians.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', Zer0 speaks in Haiku a least half the time he opens his mouth. Some are beautifully written prose, others... [[SophisticatedAsHell not so much]].