Summary

"Protest" begins with the speaker suggesting that remaining silent under inequitable circumstances is a "sin" that "makes cowards out of men" (1-2). She argues that "the human race / Has climbed on protest," explaining that without vocal dissent from people of the past, cruel regimes would still govern (2-3). She provides the examples of the Spanish Inquisition and the guillotine as a tool for punishment of petty crime. She says that "the few who dare" are responsible for speaking out, again and again, against any inequality they observe or encounter (7). She celebrates the assumption that speech, unlike other forms of dissent, is the one tool that citizens have at their disposal that "No vested power in this great day and land / Can gag or throttle" (9-10). By being vocal about problems in the country, she argues, people are able to leverage significant criticism against those...