Throughout life there will always be difficulties that surround the individual. Whether social or personal, there are countless problems that one must learn to face and overcome. Especially as one wishes to advance their dreams, one will realize that many obstacles must be overcome before their dream is achieved. Through a relatable situation, Edgar A. Guest's poem, See it Through, illustrates overcoming these obstacles through the use of figurative language, personification, and other poetic devices. Edgar A. Guest firstly describes how one might stand up and face misfortune by utilizing personification and figurative language. Beginning with the first lines in the poem, Guest encourages his readers to meet "face to face" with the personification …show more content…
of trouble. By doing so, Guest demonstrates that the problems in life are things that one will have to learn to stand up to at any moment (line 1). This becomes a relatable moment of the poem because many people who wish to move further in their life must meet with trouble that they may encounter to succeed, instead of attempting to avoid it and failing in the end. Guest also personifies "nerves" in line 10 to represent one's courage. He warns his readers with encouragement to not "let your nerves desert you, [to] keep yourself in fighting trim" because this further affirms to his readers that if one becomes shy or afraid, they will not be able to go as far as they would have wished. Through his use of personification and figurative language, Guest is able to draw his readers closer to his overall theme of the poem to fight for one's success. Throughout the poem, his use of repetition and metaphor is also clearly evident in furthering his readers into understanding through his encouraging, almost command-like tone.
In many parts of the poem, Guest uses metaphors to show the strength that one should always keep while facing their troubles. He tells his readers to "Lift your chin and square your shoulders, plant your feet and take a brace" to prepare for whatever could be ahead (lines 2-3). Even through the metaphor "Black may be the clouds above you" which gives a clear perception of difficult and hopeless moments that might be surrounding an individual, it is still better than running since it "will not save you" (lines 8-11). It is throughout the poem that Guest has used many metaphors to remind his readers about the facing the problems that will lie ahead. It is even pointed at points, such as, "You may fail, but fall fighting" to remind the reader that not all problems can be confronted. However, the author suggests that with a person's body language, like standing tall, could become a resolve. With these metaphorical commands, it gives the reader the feeling of a solider or fighter that is preparing to face an enemy. This is also further emphasized from his use of repetition. Guest repeats the figurative phrase, "See it through" to show the reader to overcome the toughest or most hopeless of problems. It is also from this statement that he suggests to go keep going no matter what since in the end it is possible that one can succeed. Becoming the clearest and most encouraging phrase and title of the poem, Guest has made the distinction of his theme to overcome everything that one can in order to achieve the best for one's
future. Edgar A. Guest's poem, See it Through presents how one should learn to gain their success by defeating their problems, even if failure is evident. The poem becomes relatable from the perception of a person that is working hard to obtain their goals in life and is hopeful to seek out the best for themselves. Life is series of difficult events, one after another, that everyone wants to do their best in for a variety of reasons. Even from the hardest of times, such as losing someone they love or dealing with other difficult events in one's life, the poem has reminded it's readers through all the difficult times in life to, "See it through".
“The way [one] expresses both the agony of life and the possibility of conquering it through is the sheer toughness of the spirit. They fall short of
situation is not to surrender to fear and the author shows this idea throughout the poem that we
When individuals face obstacles in life, there is often two ways to respond to those hardships: some people choose to escape from the reality and live in an illusive world. Others choose to fight against the adversities and find a solution to solve the problems. These two ways may lead the individuals to a whole new perception. Those people who decide to escape may find themselves trapped into a worse or even disastrous situation and eventually lose all of their perceptions and hops to the world, and those who choose to fight against the obstacles may find themselves a good solution to the tragic world and turn their hopelessness into hopes. Margaret Laurence in her short story Horses of the Night discusses the idea of how individual’s responses
There will come different problems and difficulties that keep him or her from moving on. According to two poems, two main characters are facing difficulties in their life. For example, the little girl in ‘where there’s a wall’ is sent to Japanese- Canadian internment camp. She loses her freedom just because she is a Japanese- Canadian. She remembers ‘there are zeppelin, helicopter, rockets, bombs, battering rams, armies with trumpets whose all at once blast shatter.’ Inside the wall, she doesn’t see or know anything. However, she can hear the bombing, killing and crying from the war. She and other Japanese are forced to do things they don’t want to. Her life is stopped by this wall. Likewise, in ‘Paixis ’, the author observes human behavior. He describes ‘us creature/ weeping in the abettor. Only make noise and do, not transform a single fact.’ These obstacles like cages, many people are locked down and lose their future. Without a doubt, difficulties can occur in anyone’s life in any time and any place. It’s impossible to avoid them. All people can do is to accept the
We are left with a threat--a steel fist in a velvet glove of poetry--and it becomes a poem that we "have to" understand, whether we want to or not.
The obstacles which we must face are not there to hinder our daily life. They are there to provide countless opportunities to obtain greater success. In order to be successful we must look at every obstacle as a new opportunity.
Though dealing with the situation is difficult, the poem goes on to express that going through this ordeal has only strengthened the resolve of the African American community. Lines 4-9 of this poem speak to toughness and resolve of the African American community in the fight to gain equality. McKay even goes as far ...
The theme of this poem is that although things may be bad , if you keep your head up, and fight everyday for what you believe in, then you can achieve and make the future better. You must leave the past behind you, and you will achieve what you want in the future.
Overall, dwell on this process of changing throughout the poem, it can be understood that the poet is demonstrating a particular attitude towards life. Everyone declines and dies eventually, but it would be better to embrace an optimistic, opened mind than a pessimistic, giving-up attitude; face the approach of death unflinchingly, calmly.
If everyone thinks that without struggle, it is easy to obtain their goals that is entirely false. Struggle comes from the progress of our success and achievement. It is an indication that we poured all of our time and patience into the things we pursue. Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle, explain her struggles. She survives by finding foods from the trash can and earns money by babysitting, exchanging scrap metal, finding jobs, and from her parents. As a graduating student from high school, receiving my diploma is an indication that I ...
He states, “as I came up along his side. I was sure now I’d at least exceed my best time.” Meanwhile, his opponent began to pick up his pace and sprint to the finish, “but the man with the famous final kick had already begun his move.” This pertains to how we need to approach challenges feeling self-assured even though we might not end up on top every time. All we need to do is focus on our own goals and finding ways to achieve them. These lines also imply that we need to push ourselves until the very end and never give up. The poem concludes with the speaker hearing a spectator say, “Beautiful,” as if something unavoidable was about to happen out of nowhere. This part of the poem is an excellent reminder that you should always expect the unexpected and never count anyone out. This stanza has a determined and admiring tone. We can see the determination when the speaker says, “I was sure now I’d at least exceed my best time” and the admiration when he says, “Beautiful, I heard a spectator say.”
This is a wonderful poem with many different themes and ideas. One of the biggest themes is not being afraid to take a chance. Some of the other themes include, not following the crowd, trying new things, and standing for something. This poem stated that the author "took the one (road) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" so the author is telling the reader that we too should not be afraid to take another path.
“It Couldn’t Be Done” by Edgar Guest discusses the importance of perseverance and self reliance in a world filled with negativity. The poem includes imagery, symbolism, connotation, form, and sound devices to contribute to the overall topic of motivation.
Love comes in every way, shape and form, whether it be living under cattle’s feet or living in a beautiful creek. The theme of “The Clod and the Pebble” by William Blake is portrayed through very unique imagery, awesome word choice, and extraordinary relationships. This eccentric poem by William Blake talks about the different lives of a very simple clod and a pebble in which live in two opposite worlds. The way he starts this poem can be very misleading until the second stanza, in here it starts to tell us what it’s really about. William Blake then explains to us the two lives of these two very different souls. The theme of “The Clod and the Pebble” is to accept your life no matter where you live or travel and to not be that person who has a great life, but is always complaining.
The two roads presented in this poem represent difficult decisions we are faced with in life. He uses the relationship between the paths and real life decisions throughout the whole poem. This is an example of extended metaphor, which is used to help the readers understand the analogy between the two. The man in the poem said: “long I stood” (3), which lets us know the decision was not made instantly. It was hard for the man to make a final judgment.