Warrior Poet / Literature

• According to Ax, in the Animorphs universe Andalite warriors are supposed to be scientists and artists as well as soldiers. How well the first two actually take depends on the individual.
• Harun ar-Rashid in The Arabian Nights. And probably in Real Life too. Nearly all Middle Eastern royalty had some elements of this trope. Ottoman Sultans in particular were known not only for their abilities on the battlefield but for their patronage and in many cases their participation in great art. Suleyman the Magnificent was a proficient metalworker, and most rulers after him decided to master a craft as well.
• In Mikhail Akhmanov's Arrivals from the Dark book Envoy from the Heavens, Ivar Trevelian arrives on a planet to investigate why the local Human Alien population is stuck in Medieval Stasis for the better part of a millennium. He disguises himself as a member of the Rhapsod Brotherhood (traveling bards and minstrels), so his travels don't arouse suspicion. Very quickly he finds out that singing and entertaining is not all the rhapsods do. Apparently, they are also highly-skilled warriors, feared and respected throughout the world. When the need arises to dispense justice, they replace their robes and lutes with armor and weapons. Thanks to his own training, Ivar is equal to them in this regard.
• Both Aubrey and Maturin from the Aubrey-Maturin series. Each has his forte and loves bringing destruction to the enemies of the crown; Aubrey as a more than competent naval officer, Maturin as a spy. Also, they're deadly with blades and guns individually. And in their spare time, they while away the hours playing duets written for violin and cello. And the officers under Aubrey's command also love music and turn their hand to poetry. Frankly, this is Truth in Television, since months at sea could get boring.
• In G. K. Chesterton's The Ballad of the White Horse, there is not only Elf the minstrel ("whose hand was heavy on the sword, though light upon the string..."), but King Alfred himself. He was this in Real Life too. And he was the epitome of a Badass Bookworm.
• Several of the characters in Belisarius Series, notably Rao.
• In Beowulf a hero is not judged just by how well he can perform feats of bravery and strength. He is judged at least as much by how well he can tell tales of his heroic feats.
• The sci-fi short story "Between Two Dragons" by Yoon Ha Lee is set in a Space Opera future where the military leadership are all expected to be warrior poets so that even messages of defeat have a certain grace to them.
• Lois Mcmaster Bujold's Chalion series:
  • Prince (and possibly pirate) Jokol Skullsplitter. It turns out "Skullsplitter" doesn't mean what we think it does.
  • To a lesser extent former soldier, Lupe dy Cazaril, finds that poetry is the only way he can come close to describing his divine experience.
• Bobby Shaftoe from Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, a US Marine Raider who composes a haiku in the face of danger.
• In The Dinosaur Lords, Count Jaume is Empire's prime duelist and fine military commander, but also one of Nuevaropa's more famous poets, who's written some works on philosophy.
• Discworld:
  • Subverted in Terry Pratchett's book, The Wee Free Men — Feegles are mostly Boisterous Bruisers, but to them words cut deeper than any blade. Thus... Gonnagles. To be fair, however, poetry is a dangerous weapon in their hands, because it quickly gets so horrifically bad even wild animals flee in genuine pain.
  • And again in Interesting Times. Lord Hong is the cleverest person in the Aurient, so it's him who figures out that when choosing someone for a highly specialized position, for instance warrior, it's better to examine them on that topic than the level of exquisiteness of their seven-line poem about an ethereal white horse floating through a lavender meadow.
• Yuri Zhivago of Doctor Zhivago is a deconstruction of this trope. Although Yuri is a poet, he is a Starving Artist throughout the narrative, making many detailed observations about life in his writings but rarely able to publish or get money from his works. He is also a Reluctant Warrior, acting as a medic most of the time in World War I and the Russian Civil War but being forced to take up arms in certain situations.
• Draycos the K'da of the Dragonback series explicitly calls himself a warrior-poet. He's shown considering how he could compose something for an occasion, and before he learns how to read English he once memorizes something by making a kind of poem in which each letter is a warrior posed in a particular way. He's also quite good at the warrior aspect.
• In Dragon Bones, Ward and his brother Tosten both qualify. Ward is a bit more of a fighter, but knows lots of ballads by heart and can play the harp. Tosten is a bard by profession and makes his own songs (about heroic deeds in battle, among other things). He is also quite good at swordfighting.
• Gurney Halleck in Dune is a literal example. He is a musician and philosopher with seemingly infinite supply of witticisms for any occasion. He is also a remorseless killer, perfectly willing to cut any Harkonnen he comes across (or anyone who gets on the wrong side of Duke Leto for that matter) into pieces. Or as his brother-in-arms Duncan Idaho describes him:
  Duncan: Ah, Gurney! He could kill you while singing and never miss a note!
• Jonathan Hemlock of The Eiger Sanction. Assassin and art historian.
• The title character in Eurico the Presbyter is a knight that becomes a Roman Catholic priest who had the habit of composing songs and hymns, often to repress the heartbreak from being denied the chance to marry the woman he loved.
• The Executioner. Soldier-turned-vigilante Mack Bolan is very well-read. Each novel in the series begins with a couple of quotes from a literary work, then a quote from Bolan's journal giving his own take on it. His favourite book is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, as Bolan often sees himself as "tilting at windmills."
• Most unicorns in The Firebringer Trilogy count as this — though they are trained and raised as warriors, they also enjoy the festivities of having one appointed "singer" tell poetic stories of their heritage. Tek in particular is both a fearsome warrior and a talented singer.
• Logen Ninefingers from The First Law, as in the quote at the top of the page. He was a Conan-esque adventurer in the past, but in the actual story is a tragic figure hounded by old feuds. Most of these old feuds are examples of Bullying a Dragon. Say one thing about Logen Ninefingers, say he's a hardcore, if reluctant, badass.
• Glerk of The Girl Who Drank the Moon composes poetry on a daily basis. He remembers his warrior past wielding five swords at once, but prefers not to engage in violence these days.
• Harry Potter: Bane the Centaur has an extremely intimidating and warlike personality but is, nevertheless, shown to be just as stargazing and philosophical as the rest of his kind.
• Heir Apparent: Saint Bruce was a warrior poet./He lived in a cave, don't you know it?/He wrote sonnets and verses,/But never said curses./He'll give you one chance—please don't blow it.
• Many characters in The Icelandic Sagas. Norse culture did not see literary talent and fighting ability as incompatible, and often they went together, as one of the most effective ways of making your name as a poet was coming up with cutting insults for your enemies. Who would often respond by trying to cut bits off you.
  • One of the most notable examples is Egil Skallagrimsson, an anti-hero Viking native to Iceland who was both noted as groundbreaking skald and all-around badass berserker. In his titular saga after an event, the narrative will stop to relate a poem Egil supposedly sang to mark the occasion. He was so good he convinced one King Eric Bloodaxe to abandon their long-running feud instead of having Egil's head chopped off, with a poem he made up the night before.
  • The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue is about two Warrior Poets in a tragic love triangle with a woman.
• Inheritance Cycle:
  • Murtagh is very much a warrior, but also appreciates reading and scholarship.
  • After Brom teaches him to read, Eragon devours any literature he can find, and during his time in Ellesmera, he writes poetry in between combat and magic training.
  • Most of the elves appear to be this. When you're immortal, there's plenty of time to learn both swordplay and fine arts. Plus, every participant in the Agaeti Blodhren must bring a work of art or literature they've made to share.
• The black panther Bagheera, of the The Jungle Book stories by Rudyard Kipling is a consummate badass with a heart attuned to the tragedy of life.
• The main character of Daniel Silva's spy novel "The Kill Artist", Gabriel Allon, is an Israeli assassin and the best art restorer in the business.
• The Legend of Drizzt: Drizzt Do'Urden in Forgotten Realms certainly is a poetic soul. But not a poet.
• Malazan Book of the Fallen:
  • Karsa Orlong is most definitely a barbaric Proud Warrior Race Guy... and also a great sculptor.
  • Fiddler of the Malazan army always carries an instrument with him but never seems to play it. As it turns out, the few times he does play it the song can touch the hearts of an entire city.
• Also by G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday has Gabriel Syme, a police detective who is also a poet with an appreciation for philosophy.
• Musketeer Space has Aramis, the deeply religious Ace Pilot and Ethical Slut who composes free-verse love poetry to her string of girlfriends and aspires to someday be a priest.
• Volker of Alzey in the Nibelungenlied — court musician, but also one of the most badass fighters in the epic poem. The anonymous writer loves to refer to Volker's sword as his "strong (fiddle-)bow".
• The Outlaw Chronicles:
  • Alan Dale is a minstrel who has performed duets with King Richard the Lionheart (making verses up on the spot to tactfully remind the King that he owes Robin (Robin Hood, now an Earl) a large amount of money) and for Queen Eleanor, being the originator of pretty much all the songs about Robin...and is tall, especially for the time, being 6 foot tall, strong, fast and reckoned one of the best swordsmen in the kingdom by his late teens/early twenties. That and using unorthodox fighting moves to beat a far better swordsman in under 2 minutes.
  • Richard himself, who happens to be even better at both.
• Siegfried Sasson, Wilfred Owen, and Robert Graves in The Regeneration Trilogy, see the Real Life entry below.
• David Zindell's Requiem for Homo Sapiens has the Order of Warrior-Poets. Every year they clone billions of children, whose educational process includes regular fights to the death — either via combat, or poetry competitions. Each "graduating class" numbers in the hundreds, if that.
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms:
  • Cao Cao is a perfect example. Not only did he conquer most of Northern and Central China, but was also a famous poet who is credited today for starting the Jian'an style of poetry in China.
  • Other characters display this as a more important part of their back-story, as well. For example, Lu Meng of the Wu Kingdom was once something closer to a Glory Hound or The Brute, when his superiors berated him for it. Unlike most brutes, however, he actually took it upon himself to become a scholar as well as a warrior and achieved far greater fame for his efforts.
  • Considering what period of China this takes place in, and how it shaped Chinese thought about war for centuries, this belief should not be considered surprising.
• Gallinger in A Rose for Ecclesiastes. He is a linguist and poet, but when he gets rustled he's implacable.
• Second Apocalypse: It's implied that the Ishroi of the Non-Men have this in their culture. When Nin’janjin wrote a diplomatic message to Cû’jara-Cinmoi requesting aid, he wrote it in verse.
• Sharpe:
  • Daniel Hagman is the best marksman in his unit but is also a talented musician, singing for the other men (in one case as the man dies) and occasionally playing the guitar or some equivalent. Of course, this was mostly because his TV actor is primarily a folk singer and wrote or arranged most of the music for the show...
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Girdwood, on the other hand, thought of himself as a warrior-poet but proved to be incompetent in both areas.
  • William Frederickson is not only a Captain of the Rifles but also an accomplished artist and architecture enthusiast.
• A Song of Ice and Fire:
  • Denzo D'han, a sellsword of The Windblown, is described in-universe as one.
  • Rhaegar Targaryen is said to have been one, as well, but with more emphasis on the poet part than a warrior. For most of his life, he completely ignored martial training and spent his days and nights reading and playing the harp. One day he read something that convinced him he needed to be a warrior. He quickly became one of Westeros' finest warriors.
  • Mance Rayder, who is a skilled bard in addition to King Beyond the Wall.
• Star Wars Legends:
  • Death Star has Nova Stihl, Imperial prison guard, trooper, and master of martial arts, who has Battle Precognition. He's also got a sense for fair play and likes training people. And the stash of illicit holograms under his bunk? Dissertations on philosophy. He doesn't think of himself as a particularly deep thinker at the start of the book, though.
  • Explicit with the S'krrr poet Sh'shak in Galaxy of Fear. Apparently all S'krrr poets can also fight, due to cultural mores.
  • Grand Admiral Thrawn of The Thrawn Trilogy in the Star Wars Expanded Universe believes that if you understand the art of a species, you can understand their tactics. It works quite well for him. It's not as esoteric as it sounds; he's mostly looking for conceptual blind spots and places where they'll jump to false conclusions.
• Daniel Bookman in The Summer Before the War. He continues to work on his poems on the battlefield after enlisting in the armed forces.
• Richard from Sword of Truth is an excellent sculptor.
• Ythrians who are eagle-like recurring Warrior Poets in Technic History. The reptilian Merseians are also so, though they tend to be placed in the role of Worthy Opponent.
• J. R. R. Tolkien Legendarium:
  • Maglor from The Silmarillion, already a great minstrel and warrior, after spending the better part of the book (somewhat reluctantly) engaged in wholesale slaughter of innocent bystanders in an effort to steal back the eponymous Silmarils, decides to throw the one he eventually acquires into the sea and take up a repentant existence Walking the Earth and singing about how sorry he is.
  • This is de rigueur for the elves and those aligned with them. Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, for example, can recite the melancholy poetry of his ancestors (both human and elven) and wield the sword of his ancestors with equal alacrity.
  • Also Éomer, who actually composes poetry on the battlefield in The Return of the King.
  • Samwise isn't necessarily a good poet, but he still fits the spirit of the trope, finding meaning in war through stories and songs, and at one point attempting to compose an elegy for a (temporarily) fallen comrade.
  • Gimli. Many prominent characters describe him as silver-tongued, and his appreciation for the natural beauty of the world shows a romantic side to him. When he declares a Courtly Love for Galadriel, she's genuinely charmed.
  "It is said that the skill of the Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues, yet that is not true of Gimli."
• Under Heaven: While studying for the Civil Service, Shen Tai was expected to memorize and analyze various poems, in preparation for the final exams; he later received an appointment as an Army officer. Also, Sima Zian apparently spent some time as a bandit, before becoming "the renowned poet of the age".
• Subverted in the sci-fi novel Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks. The protagonist Cheradenine Zakalwe wants to be a poet as well as a soldier, but all his efforts are amateurish. In a particular irony, the novel is bookended by the (much better) poetic efforts of his co-workers. Worth noting is his behavior after he realized he was a better warrior than a poet. There was a nasty slave-driver who liked to cut off people's tongues. Right after Zakalwe left the planet he was on at the time, the guy's corpse was discovered with a look of horror on his face, and several human tongues and the paper on which Zakalwe was trying to write poetry shoved down his throat.
• In War and Peace, a near-death experience turns Prince Andrei from being just a normal Proud Warrior Race Guy to a Warrior Poet.
• Brandark Brandarkson from David Weber's War God series wants to be one of these badly. He's got the Warrior part down; it's the Poet part that eludes him. He's a notable warrior even for a hradani, and easily the most educated person in all hradani lands, and even plays the balakaika. Unfortunately, his attempts at poetry are witty doggerel at best, and the less said about his singing voice the better. The Goddess of Music herself honors his artist's soul, but even she can't make him a poet.
• Stock from Lloyd Alexander's Westmark series composes poetry of his Muse while being a core member of Florian's band of rebels.
  "Our worthy Stock, though he may look like a prize bull, is by inclination a poet; by temperament, a dreamer."
• The Wheel of Time:
  • Al'Lan Mandragoran, prince of the fallen kingdom of Malkier. It's almost an Informed Ability since there is exactly one scene in the series in which he recites poetry, but given that he's rightfully a king one would expect him to have a certain amount of cultured education, especially for one raised by Fantasy Counterpart Culture Samurai and himself being the Dalai Lama (obviously without the pacifism) crossed with Lancelot.
  • Mat Cauthon becomes one, courtesy of The Fair Folk giving him Past-Life Memories from hundreds of accomplished soldiers across thousands of years. He's intelligent and an exceptional fighter in his own right, but growing up as a backwater Farm Boy didn't afford him much opportunity for formal education.
• Young Wizards: From A Wizard Abroad, we have Tualha, the bard who goes into battle and recites epic — and insulting — poetry at her enemies. And is a small kitten.