Sohrab and Rustum by Matthew Arnold
"Sohrab and Rustum" is a poignant narrative poem by Matthew Arnold that explores themes of heroism, identity, and the tragic consequences of fate. Set against the backdrop of an impending battle between the Tartars and the Persians, the story follows Sohrab, a young and aspiring warrior of the Tartar army, who yearns to find his father, Rustum, an esteemed Persian chieftain. Unbeknownst to Rustum, he has a son, as Sohrab's mother kept this secret in hopes of preventing her son from a life of war.
As the plot unfolds, Sohrab seeks to challenge a Persian champion, hoping to gain fame that might reach his father's ears. This confrontation leads to a tragic duel between father and son, culminating in a heartbreaking revelation of their true relationship. The poem grapples with the themes of familial bonds, the hero's journey, and the profound sorrow that arises from misunderstanding and deception. Ultimately, as Rustum mourns his son's death, the narrative reflects on the enduring nature of grief and the relentless passage of time, symbolized by the flowing Oxus River. Arnold's work invites readers to contemplate the complexities of human relationships and the inexorable fate that shapes their destinies.
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Sohrab and Rustum by Matthew Arnold
First published: 1853, in Poems
Type of work: Poetry
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: Antiquity
Locale: Western Asia, along the Oxus River
Principal characters
Rustum , a Persian chieftainSohrab , a youth in the Tartar armyPeran-Wisa , the leader of the TartarsFerood , the leader of the PersiansGudurz , another Persian chieftain
The Poem:
The two powerful armies of the Tartars and the Persians are encamped along the banks of the Oxus River. It is night, and the soldiers are asleep, but daylight will bring a great conflict between mighty forces. To one Tartar, rest refuses to come. In the grayness of the early dawn, he leaves his bed and makes his solitary way through the black tents of the great encampment to the quarters of Peran-Wisa, commander of the Tartar army. He is Sohrab, the youthful champion of the Tartars. Hardly more than a boy, he develops into the mightiest fighter of the Tartar host. Young in years and famous in arms, he is nevertheless restless and discontented. Above everything else, he wants to find the father he has never seen, the incomparable Rustum, invincible chieftain of the Persians.
Rustum does not even know that he has a son. He is told that a woman of Ader-baijan, after his departure from that place, bore him a child, but that was years earlier. Rustum gives the matter little thought because he believes the child to be a girl. After Sohrab is born, the fearful mother, hoping to prevent her son from being taken from her and reared for war, deceives Rustum with that report. Nevertheless, Sohrab becomes a warrior, and his mother’s ruse avails nothing except to keep her son from a knowledge of his father.
Peran-Wisa awakens when Sohrab enters and asks an unusual favor of him: Sohrab wishes to challenge a leader of the Persians to single combat, the duel to occur as soon as arrangements can be made. He hopes that his fame as a fighter will thereby reach the ears of his father. Peran-Wisa urges patience and questions his wisdom in thus tempting fate, but at last he unwillingly agrees to Sohrab’s request.
Thus challenged by their Tartar foe, the Persians are barely able to conceal their alarm. They have no champion to pit against the redoubtable young Sohrab except Rustum, and Rustum withdraws because of slights from the young Persian ruler. When the Persians appeal to him, cleverly implying that Rustum is hoarding his fame and becomes reluctant to risk combat with younger men, Rustum is aroused and grudgingly consents to meet the Tartar champion. He stipulates, however, that he will fight unknown to the enemy and in plain armor, for he fears that his great name might otherwise daunt the brash young challenger at the outset. Now that his temper is aroused, Rustum is in no mood to give up the chance of another single combat.
Halfway between the waiting armies, Sohrab and Rustum come face-to-face. Before they fight, words pass between them, and a strange disquiet settles over their spirits. The moment passes, however, and the conflict begins. Sohrab’s misgivings return; when his nimbleness gives him the initial advantage, he forebears to follow it up. Stung with anger and shame, Rustum gives him no second chance. With a shout of “Rustum” he renews his attack upon Sohrab, who, thunderstruck at the name, momentarily lowers his shield. Instantly he is transfixed by Rustum’s spear and falls to the ground, mortally wounded.
As his life ebbs away, the young man reveals to his adversary the secret of his birth. Rustum, at first incredulous, is convinced when Sohrab bares his arm to reveal the sign of Rustum’s own seal, pricked there soon after his birth. The unhappy Rustum, beset by extremes of agony and remorse, can barely be restrained from taking his own life and dying with his son. Broken by grief, he promises to bear the body of Sohrab far away, so that it might be in death where it was never in life, near the palace of snowheaded Zal, the boy’s grandfather. There it will receive burial worthy of a son of Rustum. Thus ends Sohrab’s quest for his father. Life passes from him; the day wanes; night comes on. The majestic river flows on into the frosty starlight, and campfires begin to twinkle through the fog. Rustum, grieving, remains on the river sands, alone with his son.
Bibliography
Cervo, Nathan. “’Dover Beach,’ ’Sohrab and Rustum,’ ’Philomela,’ and ’Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse.’” Arnoldian 11, no. 1 (Winter, 1984): 24-31. Cervo discusses Arnold’s use of sea and stone imagery as they are related to the Oedipus complex.
Frame, E. Frances. “Shaping the Self: Critical Perspective and Community in Sohrab and Rustum.” Victorian Poetry 45, no. 1 (Spring, 2007): 17-28. An explication of the poem, focusing on Arnold’s metaphors. Frame argues that the theme of the poem is individuals’ refusal to realize the limitations of their knowledge, a theme Arnold used in other works.
Gouws, John. “Matthew Arnold’s ’Sohrab and Rustum.’” Notes and Queries 30 (August, 1983): 302. This note establishes Goethe as another author whom Matthew Arnold deeply admired. The way Arnold uses his sources demonstrates his practice of measuring his own poetry against “touchstones” from the great literature of the past.
Hamilton, Ian. A Gift Imprisoned: The Poetic Life of Matthew Arnold. London: Bloomsbury, 1998. A critical biography that explores the frustrations in Arnold’s life, the tension between passion and repression in his poetry, and his decision to abandon poetry for prose writing.
Kline, Daniel. “’Unhackneyed Thoughts and Winged Words’: Arnold, Locke, and the Similes of ’Sohrab and Rustum.’” Victorian Poetry 41, no. 2 (Summer, 2003): 173. Analyzes Arnold’s use of similes in this and other poems and the persistent theme of human isolation and alienation in Arnold’s work.
Pratt, Linda Ray. Matthew Arnold Revisited. New York: Twayne, 2000. An introductory overview of Arnold’s life and literary career, with analysis of his work. Pratt also provides a postmodern interpretation of Arnold’s work.
Roper, Alan. Arnold’s Poetic Landscapes. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1969. Examines the degree to which Arnold achieves unity between human significance and literal landscape. In discussing “Sohrab and Rustum,” Roper focuses on the tragically fateful dichotomy in Rustum between the individual fulfillment of finding a son of whom he can be proud and his public obligation to be a great warrior.
Thorpe, Michael. Matthew Arnold. New York: Arco, 1969. Contains a comprehensive treatment of the poem and of the manuscript. Also analyzes specific images and includes a comparison of “Sohrab and Rustum” with Arnold’s other poems.