Poetry Analysis Essay

What types of things come to mind when you think about success? When I think of someone being a success I think of someone who achieved some type of goal or obtained an honor of some type. The three poems I found talk about what success means to each of the individual writers of these three poems. Each writer has their own personal opinion on what success means to them. These poems are all about success, but you will notice how they are all very different from one another. The first poem is called Success in the Twenty-First Century by Sharon Esther Lampert. This poem talks about all of the things in life we should accomplish before we die and all the things we need to be successful in our goals in life. When I read this poem it reminds me of the things that I have always wanted to do but am yet to accomplish. It is like the author is telling me life is too short to wait, I have to act on my dreams and goals now. Be who you are and do the things that make you happy because one day it will be too late. Success is a very hard thing to come by with all the different obstacles life throws at us all. Make a meaningful contribution to yourself† (Sharon), stay true to who you are and know that you can make it. This is the feeling and emotion I got from Success in the Twenty- First Century by Sharon Ester Lampert. Next is a poem titled Successful Failure by Robert William Service. In the beginning Robert says †I wonder if successful men are always happy? † When I was reading this poem I thought just because you have everything does not necessarily make you happy. The most successful people may have great wealth and nice belongings, but Robert makes a point in saying success can also be a failure. In the simple thought that maybe not being successful in everything is also a good thing. â€Å"Let cottage comfort be my lot with well-worn britches† (William) success is not measured in wealth, this poem made me see that success is being comfortable with who you are and what you have, whether it be success in small goals or large goals. Success should come with happiness not fame and riches. â€Å"I think of all I’ll never own,-I’m laughing† in other words be happy with what you have, some people never get to have half of what you have and they are happy with that. Lastly there is a poem by Emily Dickinson called Success is Counted Sweetest. This poem uses a few different metaphors explaining that those who succeed never truly appreciate it. On the other hand, the one who fails or lacks something is the one who truly appreciate success. These are the type of people who truly appreciate success and how wonderful it would be if they had succeeded. The dilemma in this poem is that those who strive longer to reach a point of success are the ones who appreciate their victory more â€Å"who took the flag today can tell the definition so clear of victory† (Emily). Those who almost succeed but do not can look at their near success as sweet. Think of it due to being so close to success but yet never fully got to the finish line, it’s a sweet feeling to know you were close. Like saying to enjoy nectar and to truly understand all the wonderful aspects of nectar and be satisfied by it not just to scarf it down â€Å"To comprehend a nectar requires sorest need. † (Emily) So have you thought about what success means to you? Success comes in all sorts of different types of forms. There are big success like becoming the CEO of a large company and there small victories like winning first place in a spelling competition, which we also call being successful. Although these poems describe success from different aspects, they all show the emotion behind the moments of success and victory. Success is never a negative thing, but it can become negative if you lose focus on who you are and why you wanted this success to begin with. Be successful for no one else but yourself, after all that is how we accomplish success, on our own. Success in the Twenty-First Century by Sharon Esther Lampert Be Born.