"The Bystander" - Rosemary Dobson
"The Bystander" describes the significance of the insignificant characters in paintings. The speaker in the poem is that figure painted behind/beside the subjects of artworks, where he/it speaks out of its existence to us: in the form of a wing, a squire, a distant figure or part of a crowd.
This insignificant character reflects upon several scenes he/it has stood in, such as the two slaughter of Innocents (i.e. the murder of infants from both Old and New Testament Bibles), and settings such as 'the Garden' (of Eden). The ignorant speaker who recalls the voice, which said "Eat", in 'the Garden', gives these certain clues to the learned reader.
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