# Pharaoh — Poetry character guide

> Pharaoh in Poetry by James Weldon Johnson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Poor Old Pharaoh, Old Pharaoh

**First appearance:** 0070-let-my-people-go

## Snapshot

Egypt's proud king, keeper of all its knowledge and chariots, who cannot conceive of a God he does not already own.

## Who they are

Pharaoh looks at Moses and asks, 'Who is this Lord? I know all the gods of Egypt.' His power is real — overseers, drivers, six hundred chosen chariots — and his heart hardens with each plague until the Red Sea closes over his host. He is the poem's study in how mastery of everything visible can blind a man to the one thing that matters.

## Relationships

### [Moses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/moses)

_rivalry_

Moses confronts Pharaoh as a divine adversary, demanding the release of the Israelites.

### [Moses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/moses)

_rivalry_

Moses confronts Pharaoh as a divine adversary, demanding the release of the Israelites.

## In the story

### [Let My People Go](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/chapters/let-my-people-go)

Hardens his heart against God; refuses to let the Hebrews go until the firstborn are slain; pursues Israel and drowns in the Red Sea.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters/pharaoh
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_13_se/characters