Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems About Strength
Inspirational PoemsSay Not the Struggle Nought Availeth
Say not the struggle nought availeth,
The labour and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth,
And as things have been they remain.
If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars;
It may be, in yon smoke concealed,
Your comrades chase e’en now the fliers,
And, but for you, possess the field.
For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light;
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look, the land is bright!
Overview Short Summary
The poem answers discouragement by showing that progress may be hidden before it becomes visible. It teaches that struggle is not useless simply because victory arrives slowly.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Strength and resilience: The poem encourages readers to keep faith during slow progress.
- Hope in uncertainty: Fear may be false, even when the situation looks unchanged.
- Perseverance: The speaker insists that effort can matter before results appear.
Literary Technique Imagery and Personification
The poem uses battle smoke, waves, tides, windows, and dawn to show unseen progress gradually becoming visible.
The Oak
Live thy Life,
Young and old,
Like yon oak,
Bright in spring,
Living gold;
Summer-rich
Then; and then
Autumn-changed
Soberer-hued
Gold again.
All his leaves
Fall’n at length,
Look, he stands,
Trunk and bough,
Naked strength.
Overview Short Summary
Tennyson compares human life to an oak tree that remains strong through youth, maturity, change, and loss. The final image of “naked strength” makes endurance the poem’s central lesson.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Strength through change: The oak stays dignified in every season.
- Resilience: Even after losing its leaves, the tree stands firm.
- Aging with courage: The poem treats age not as weakness, but as exposed strength.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
Overview Short Summary
This poem honors soldiers who rode into deadly danger despite confusion and certain loss. Its focus is physical bravery, discipline, sacrifice, and public remembrance.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Courage: The soldiers continue even when surrounded by death.
- Duty: The poem presents obedience and action as part of martial strength.
- Honor and memory: The final stanza asks readers to remember the charge.
Craft Literary Devices
- Repetition: Repeated phrases imitate the rhythm of horses and battle.
- Metaphor: “Valley of Death” and “mouth of hell” intensify the danger.
- Sound imagery: “Volleyed and thundered” creates the noise of cannon fire.
Prospice
Fear death?—to feel the fog in my throat,
The mist in my face,
When the snows begin, and the blasts denote
I am nearing the place,
The power of the night, the press of the storm,
The post of the foe;
Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form,
Yet the strong man must go:
For the journey is done and the summit attained,
And the barriers fall,
Though a battle’s to fight ere the guerdon be gained,
The reward of it all.
I was ever a fighter, so—one fight more,
The best and the last!
I would hate that death bandaged my eyes, and forbore,
And bade me creep past.
No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers
The heroes of old,
Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life’s arrears
Of pain, darkness and cold.
For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave,
The black minute’s at end,
And the elements’ rage, the fiend-voices that rave,
Shall dwindle, shall blend,
Shall change, shall become first a peace out of pain,
Then a light, then thy breast,
O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again,
And with God be the rest!
Overview Short Summary
Browning’s speaker faces death as one final battle rather than something to avoid. The poem turns fear into courage by imagining the worst moment changing into peace, light, and reunion.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Courage before death: The speaker refuses to be sheltered from fear.
- Spiritual strength: The poem trusts that pain can transform into peace.
- Defiance: The speaker’s identity as a fighter shapes the whole poem.
Character of a Happy Life
How happy is he born and taught,
That serveth not another’s will;
Whose armour is his honest thought,
And simple truth his utmost skill;
Whose passions not his masters are,
Whose soul is still prepared for death;
Untied unto the world with care
Of princes’ ear or vulgar breath;
Who hath his life from rumours freed,
Whose conscience is his strong retreat;
Whose state can neither flatterers feed,
Nor ruin make oppressors great;
Who God doth late and early pray
More of His grace than gifts to lend;
And entertains the harmless day
With a religious book or friend;
This man is freed from servile bands
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall;
Lord of himself, though not of lands;
And having nothing, yet hath all.
Overview Short Summary
The poem describes a person whose strength comes from truth, conscience, self-control, and freedom from public opinion. Its ideal life is not rich in possessions, but rich in inner command.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Self-control: Strength appears as mastery over passions and fear.
- Moral character: Honest thought becomes the speaker’s “armour.”
- Inner freedom: The final line shows that self-possession is a deeper wealth.
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