Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems About Strength
Inspirational PoemsVirtue
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky:
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night;
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye:
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.
Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie;
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.
Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
Like seasoned timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal,
Then chiefly lives.
Overview Short Summary
Herbert contrasts beautiful but temporary things with the lasting strength of a virtuous soul. The poem suggests that moral strength survives where outward beauty fades.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Moral strength: Virtue is stronger than passing beauty.
- Mortality: Days, roses, and spring all must end.
- Endurance: The virtuous soul is compared to seasoned timber that does not give way.
Up-Hill
Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.
Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.
Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.
Overview Short Summary
The poem presents life as an uphill journey that lasts all day but ends in rest. Its strength is quiet endurance: the road is hard, but the traveler is not abandoned.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Endurance: The road remains uphill, yet the traveler continues.
- Hope: The promised inn gives comfort beyond difficulty.
- Spiritual strength: The poem frames weakness and labor within a larger assurance.
Patience Taught by Nature
“O dreary life,” we cry, “O dreary life!”
And still the generations of the birds
Sing through our sighing, and the flocks and herds
Serenely live while we are keeping strife
With Heaven’s true purpose in us, as a knife
Against which we may struggle. Ocean girds
Unslackened the dry land: savannah-swards
Unweary sweep: hills watch, unworn; and rife
Meek leaves drop yearly from the forest-trees,
To show, above, the unwasted stars that pass
In their old glory. O thou God of old,
Grant me some smaller grace than comes to these;—
But so much patience, as a blade of grass
Grows by, contented through the heat and cold.
Overview Short Summary
The speaker observes nature’s calm endurance and asks for a smaller version of that patience. Strength here is not dramatic action, but steady acceptance and quiet growth.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Patience: Nature teaches calm endurance through birds, ocean, hills, leaves, and grass.
- Emotional strength: The speaker seeks grace to live through hardship without constant strife.
- Humility: The prayer asks not for greatness, but for enough strength to endure.
I Took My Power in My Hand
I took my Power in my Hand—
And went against the World—
‘Twas not so much as David—had—
But I—was twice as bold—
I aimed my Pebble—but Myself
Was all the one that fell—
Was it Goliath—was too large—
Or was myself—too small?
Overview Short Summary
Dickinson’s speaker imagines challenging the world like David challenging Goliath, but the attempt ends in self-questioning. The poem is powerful because it shows courage and vulnerability together.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Inner strength: The speaker dares to take power into her own hands.
- Risk and failure: The poem admits that boldness does not always guarantee victory.
- Self-knowledge: The final question turns courage into reflection.
We Grow Accustomed to the Dark
We grow accustomed to the Dark—
When Light is put away—
As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp
To witness her Goodbye—
A Moment—We uncertain step
For newness of the night—
Then—fit our Vision to the Dark—
And meet the Road—erect—
And so of larger—Darknesses—
Those Evenings of the Brain—
When not a Moon disclose a sign—
Or Star—come out—within—
The Bravest—grope a little—
And sometimes hit a Tree
Directly in the Forehead—
But as they learn to see—
Either the Darkness alters—
Or something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight—
And Life steps almost straight.
Overview Short Summary
The poem describes how people slowly learn to move through darkness, both literal and emotional. Strength is shown as adaptation: even the bravest stumble before they learn to see.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Resilience: The poem shows people adjusting to difficult conditions.
- Mental strength: “Evenings of the Brain” suggest inner darkness or confusion.
- Growth through hardship: Life becomes steadier after vision adjusts to darkness.
Literary Technique Imagery and Personification
Darkness, lamps, roads, trees, moon, and stars create a physical scene for emotional uncertainty and recovery.
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