Original artwork, not a still
The New Timon · 1846
Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton
The brilliant chief, irregularly great, Frank, haughty, rash,–the Rupert of debate!
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The speaker portrays a gifted leader in argument whose greatness is uneven rather than smooth. He is candid, proud and impulsive, and the closing comparison to a Rupert of debate casts him as a dashing, headlong fighter in words. Admiration and criticism sit side by side.
Context reviewed
