- Dread Pirate Roberts
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Dread Pirate Roberts The Princess Bride character First appearance The Princess Bride Information Species Human Gender Male Spouse(s) None Children None Religion unknown The Dread Pirate Roberts is a fictional character in the novel The Princess Bride and its film adaptation.[1]
Contents
Role in The Princess Bride
At the beginning of The Princess Bride, the only thing known concerning the Dread Pirate Roberts is that he never leaves captives alive.
It is revealed during the course of the story that Roberts is not one man, but a series of individuals who periodically pass the name and reputation to a chosen successor. Everyone except the successor and the former Roberts is then released at a convenient port, and a new crew is hired. The former Roberts stays aboard as first mate, referring to his successor as "Captain Roberts", and thereby establishing the new Roberts' persona. After the crew is convinced, the former Roberts leaves the ship and retires on his earnings.
Westley, the hero of The Princess Bride, is on a voyage to seek his fortune when his ship is captured by the Dread Pirate and reported dead.[2] While the other passengers are weeping and offering bribery for their lives, Westley simply asks Roberts to please not kill him. The "please" arousing his interest, Roberts asks, "Why should I make an exception of you?" Westley then explains his mission to get enough money to reunite himself with Buttercup. Westley's description of Buttercup's beauty intrigues Roberts to the point that he hires Westley as a personal attendant. While Roberts is continually impressed with Westley's work, he continues to keep Westley's future in doubt by saying each night "Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning." After about three years, Roberts and Westley have grown close, and Roberts promotes Westley to his second-in-command. Shortly after that, Roberts reveals to Westley that the guise of the "Dread Pirate Roberts" is merely a nom de guerre that he has inherited. In the film adaptation, Westley relates Roberts's confession to Buttercup as they travel to the Fire Swamp:
Well, Roberts had grown so rich, he wanted to retire. He took me to his cabin and he told me his secret. 'I am not the Dread Pirate Roberts', he said. 'My name is Ryan; I inherited the ship from the previous Dread Pirate Roberts, just as you will inherit it from me. The man I inherited it from is not the real Dread Pirate Roberts either. His name was Cummerbund. The real Roberts has been retired fifteen years and living like a king in Patagonia.'Westley goes on to explain that the method works because Roberts's notorious reputation inspires overwhelming fear in sailors. Ships immediately capitulate and surrender their wealth rather than be captured, a fate they imagine to be certain death. A pirate operating under his own name is said to be incapable of such infamy: "No one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley." He is also known for saying "Life is pain."[3]
Retirement
In both the movie and the novel, Westley indicates that he plans to retire after reuniting with Buttercup. In the movie, he suggests that Inigo Montoya might succeed him. However, in the novel, no mention is made as to who is to succeed Westley as the Dread Pirate Roberts. Ironically, at their first meeting, Inigo Montoya tells Roberts that "There's not a lot of money in revenge," but Roberts' ship is named Revenge, and it is that ship which makes him rich. In the first chapter of Buttercup's Baby (the supposed sequel to the novel), which is included in the 25th anniversary edition of the book, Goldman refers to 'Pierre', who is in charge of the pirate ship Revenge during Westley's absence and next in line to become the Dread Pirate Roberts. By the end of the chapter, Westley and his companions leave the ship again, presumably leaving Pierre once again in charge; but no mention is made of an official transfer of the title of Dread Pirate Roberts.
Holders of the title
Holders of the title Dread Pirate Roberts include:
- The original Roberts, retired fifteen years in Patagonia at the time Ryan picked Westley to be the next Dread Pirate Roberts.
- Clooney, the original Roberts' first mate (only in the novel).
- Cummerbund
- Ryan
- Westley, who presumably retires shortly following the end of the novel.
- Inigo Montoya, who presumably inherits the title from Westley (movie version).
- Pierre, who is in line to assume the title after Westley (novel version).
Neither Clooney nor Pierre exist in the movie continuity, thus making Westley the fourth incarnation of Roberts and Inigo Montoya the supposed fifth one.
Popular culture
- The 2004 remake of the computer game Sid Meier's Pirates! has the historical character of "Black" Bart Roberts. However, the character will call himself "the dread pirate Bart Roberts", and the default name of the player's first ship is the Revenge, the Dread Pirate Roberts' ship.
- The default crew charter of the MMO computer game Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates references the Dread Pirate Roberts as the greatest pirate ever.
- The Transformers character Cannonball is an homage to the Dread Pirate Roberts—he is a space pirate who is the 10th Cannonball in a line of pirates named Cannonball who each train a replacement. Under a protected section of the Hasbro website, he is even referred to as the "dreaded pirate" Cannonball in homage.[4]
- The puzzler Bookworm Adventures includes a boss in its Arabian Nights world called Dread Pirate Al-Robarts.
- In King's Bounty there is an enemy called "Dread Pirate Rob".
- Dread Pirate has been both a character kit in Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition and a Prestige Class in Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition.
- In the NCIS episode "Identity Crisis," Tony DiNozzo uses the Dread Pirate Roberts as an analogy to a master forger who trains an apprentice to replace him.
See also
- Bartholomew Roberts, a real life dreaded pirate captain
References
- ^ The Everything Pirates Book: A Swashbuckling History of Adventure, Page 228, Barbara Karg, Arjean Spaite, 2007
- ^ John Clute, John Grant. The encyclopedia of fantasy. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 788. ISBN 978-0312198695. http://books.google.com/books?id=mfjAjibERF0C&pg=PA788&dq=%22dread+pirate+Roberts%22#v=onepage&q=%22dread%20pirate%20Roberts%22&f=false.
- ^ John Losey. Experiential Youth Ministry Handbook, Volume 2: Using Intentional Activity. p. 5. http://books.google.com/books?id=FTjuu_k3stIC&pg=PA5&dq=%22dread+pirate+Roberts%22#v=onepage&q=%22dread%20pirate%20Roberts%22&f=false.
- ^ http://www.transformers.com
External links
Characters Creators Categories:- Fictional pirates
- The Princess Bride
- Characters in American novels of the 20th century
- Fictional sword fighters
- Fictional characters introduced in 1973
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