Review: Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came

Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Readers find different meanings in the books that they indulge in. You, me and the average joe, would chance upon Robert Browning ode to a hero's tale, and take away from it the determination of our protagonist Roland to undertake the perilous and insurmountable quest, his perseverance in face of ever dangerous obstacles, his resilience at the prospect of failure and ultimate death, as well as the burning sense of duty as well as loyalty to his fallen comrades which drives him forwards, whatever the end might hold.  

Stephen King read the work, took away that, and much more, using it as the template to craft the rich and enthralling world of Roland Deschain and the Dark Tower. 

Like most general readers, the reason I picked up this poem was upon learning how it served as inspiration to Mr. King's acclaimed series. Yet even then I was spellbound at how closely the journey of Browning's protagonist mirrors that of Deschain. 

Mr. King is able to take all the defining, engaging and tormenting traits of Roland, and imbue it to his own protagonist, while at the same time fleshing him out and somehow improving upon them, giving us a hero with whom we're willing to journey to the ends of the earth. 

Other than Roland, other elements of the poem, such as the treacherous sorcerer, the death inducing suffocating and oppressive world of the desert, as well as Roland's backstory and past were taken oftentimes verbatim and expanded upon, in a manner that would satisfy the readers who would want to know, what exactly happened to Browning's Roland to put him in this path. 

In many ways, despite all the challenges, obstacles and failures that he encounters, Roland here is able to keep alive the ray of hope, as well as the determination to see his near impossible task to its completion. 

The final stanza of the poem is knight Roland, throwing away the shackles of doubt, suffering and guilt, to proclaim to the dead desert, the oppressive towards, the malicious powers and the whole world, that his will has not yet been broken. That he shall persevere, for giving meaning, not only to his own existence, but also to that of his fellows, who fell along the journey, whose hopes, dreams and mission Roland inherited as his own. 

Much like Boromir in the Lord of the Rings, blowing the horn of Gondor, Roland bellows his slug-horn, in defiance to the cruel fate that has robbed much of him, and proclaim to all, 'Here stands Childe Roland, and he has come to the Dark tower', to face fire and brimstone.