EDMUND VANCE COOKE
Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
The poem begins with rising an inquiry to reader that how you could deal with the problems throughout life. The poet finds out if you acknowledged it with firm heart and cheerful. The firm heart gives reader the possibility that how determined and consistent one was to experience the issue. The utilization of word cheerful shows that an assurance has shown up with certainty where smile on face makes one firm and substantial battle.
The speaker asks whether you experienced or not how to handle the trouble, then, at that point, did you hide your face from the light of day, the expression means to get uncovered to public. In this way, he questions whether you would not refuse your failures with weakness and feeling of fear toward a conflict.
Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?
Regardless of whether trouble is enormous as a ton or trivial as an ounce, trouble is generally a trouble. So, the difficult situation impacts everybody throughout everyday life. Speaker says that trouble is private and it relies heavily on how one thinks about it and goes to it. Furthermore, what is important here isn't the way it impacts you yet the manner in which you answer the difficulty. He tries to explain that handling the problem means more than the force of the problem.
You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what’s that?
Come up with a smiling face.
It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there — that’s disgrace.
The expression beaten to earth addresses how seriously one has failed in his efforts. The impact of word beaten is felt when read and it appropriately makes the feel of fall. Speaker justifies that what's wrong in being overthrown or tumble-down level, however one ought to constantly fight back with smiling face. Here smiling face signifies hope and positivity. He additionally says that encountering defeat is OK yet not it's changelessness. Live with a ray of hope even in your emergency.
The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts,
It’s how did you fight — and why?
Speaker accepts life is like
ball, harder you are tossed higher you bounce. In order words harder the iron
is hit better is its shape. In life when we are presented to more greater
problems, the achievement that gets from it will also be great. He says be
pleased with your blackened eye, referring here to the disgrace or disrespect
acquired from failures of life. Licked indicates to hard hit one goes through,
which is least significant than recovery. It is important that how and why you
fightback throughout everyday life! The reason in these lines are the
justification behind inspiration to continue to fight against problems.
And though you be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
In this verse, speaker says regardless of whether you are done to death, meaning attempted or battled commonly what makes a difference is whether you did everything you can for the humanity, while a critic could praise you for your struggle and determination.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he’s slow or spry,
It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,
But only how did you die?
In the poem at the end speaker says that Death could either progress as slow poison or kill suddenly with no earlier information. Whether you carry on with your life slow or agile, slow can mean calm or lazy and spry referring enthusiastic and dynamic. In life what is important isn't that one is dead yet how one died! The last line of the poem has been taken as the title of the poem.
The last line of the poem has more profound significance than its literal importance. Presently, dying is an act where it talks about the end of one's life. So, the last moment of being alive is valuable to everybody, thus the act of dying in particular situation has its importance. A warrior holding the flag of his country while losing his final breath means brave death to him. As indicated by speaker he feels that the way in which one dies figures out what and how his life was.
