# David — Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral character guide

> David in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by Phillis Wheatley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Young David

**First appearance:** 0014-goliath-of-gath

## Snapshot

The stripling shepherd whose conqu'ring arm fells Goliath, then stands before the king with the giant's head depending from his hand.

## Who they are

David enters the poem as an unknown youth, so great in prowess though in years so young that Saul must ask whose son he is. He answers humbly — the son of Jesse, of a small tribe and small city — yet he carries Goliath's head and receives the royal bride. His rise from obscurity to the king's table mirrors the collection's recurring hope that the lowly may be raised.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_friendship_

David is a heroic biblical figure the narrator admires and often recounts in a laudatory tone.

## In the story

### [Goliath of Gath](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se/chapters/goliath-of-gath)

The young shepherd who defeats Goliath with a sling and stone, trusting in God.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se/characters/david
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poems_on_various_subjects_religious_and_moral_se/characters