Success
Oft have I brooded on defeat and pain,The pathos of the stupid, stumbling throng.These I ignore to-day and only longTo pour my soul forth in one trumpet strain,One clear, grief-shattering, triumphant song,For all the victories of man's high endeavor,Palm-bearing, laureled deeds that live forever,The splendor clothing him whose will is strong.Hast thou beheld the deep, glad eyes of oneWho has persisted and achieved? Rejoice!On naught diviner shines the all-seeing sun.Salute him with free heart and choral voice,'Midst flippant, feeble crowds of spectres wan,The bold, significant, successful man.
Words in this poem
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- ignore v. t.
- To be ignorant of or not acquainted with. [L. ignorare; pref. in- not + the root of gnarus knowing, noscere to become acquainted with. See Know, and cf. Narrate.]
- laureled a.
- Crowned with laurel, or with a laurel wreath; laureate.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- choral a.
- Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony. Choral service, a service of song. [LL. choralis, fr. L. chorus. See Chorus.]
- flippant a.
- Of smooth, fluent, and rapid speech; speaking with ease and rapidity; having a voluble tongue; talkative. [Prov. E. flip to move nimbly; cf. W. llipa soft, limber, pliant, or Icel. fleipa to babble, prattle. Cf. Flip, Fillip, Flap, Flipper.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Success is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #3295; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emma Lazarus, Success, in Poems, Volume I (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/success.html, id L01917.
Form and metre
Success is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABBABCCBDEDE-- painA · throngB · longB · strainA · songB · endeavorC · foreverC · strongB · oneD · rejoiceE · sunD · voiceE · wan · man
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Oft have I brooded on defeat and pain, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The pathos of the stupid, stumbling throng. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| These I ignore to-day and only long | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| To pour my soul forth in one trumpet strain, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| One clear, grief-shattering, triumphant song, | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/˘· |
| For all the victories of man's high endeavor, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Palm-bearing, laureled deeds that live forever, | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| The splendor clothing him whose will is strong. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Hast thou beheld the deep, glad eyes of one | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Who has persisted and achieved? Rejoice! | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘/ |
| On naught diviner shines the all-seeing sun. | 10 | ··˘/˘···/· |
| Salute him with free heart and choral voice, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| 'Midst flippant, feeble crowds of spectres wan, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The bold, significant, successful man. | 10 | ··˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.