# The Poet — The Four Men character guide

> The Poet in The Four Men by Hilaire Belloc.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Poet, Myself

**First appearance:** 0003-the-four-men

## Snapshot

He is the party's dreamer, given to philosophy and to noticing which stretches of forest carry the spirit of home and which feel strange.

## Who they are

He is the party's dreamer, given to philosophy and to noticing which stretches of forest carry the spirit of home and which feel strange. Kicked awake by the Sailor and teased for a rhyme that doesn't scan, he takes it in stride, trading verses and musings with Grizzlebeard while the others march. His sensitivity to place and mood gives the journey its inward dimension, turning a walk through the county into something closer to a meditation.

## In the story

### [The Four Men](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/chapters/the-four-men)

A fellow traveler and companion on the journey.

### [The Thirtieth of October 1902](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/chapters/the-thirtieth-of-october-1902)

Seen on the road ahead; Grizzlebeard suggests making him part of their company.

### [The Thirty-First of October 1902](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/chapters/the-thirty-first-of-october-1902)

Speaks of the holiness of river sources; claims to have seen the Little People and received the power to conceive good verse; slouches as they walk.

### [The Thirty-First of October 1902](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/chapters/the-thirty-first-of-october-1902)

The narrator; leads the group; unlocks the house at Ashurst; lights the fire with a sheaf of disappointing verse; admits he may have heard the fairies but never seen them.

### [The First of November 1902](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/chapters/the-first-of-november-1902)

Speaks of the blessedness of seeing one's own country after many years.

### [The Second of November 1902](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/chapters/the-second-of-november-1902)

One of the companions who rises and walks with the group, silent and seemingly taller in the mist.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/characters/poet
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/characters