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The poem's three unemotional quatrains are written in iambic trimeter with only line 5 in iambic tetrameter. Lines 1 and 3 (and others) end with extra syllables. The rhyme scheme is abcb. The poem's "success" theme is treated paradoxically: Only those who know defeat can truly appreciate success. Alliteration enhances the poem's lyricism.
Her poem was written in 1904 for a contest held in Brown Book Magazine, [5] by George Livingston Richards Co. of Boston, Massachusetts [2] Mrs. Stanley submitted the words in the form of an essay, rather than as a poem. The competition was to answer the question "What is success?" in 100 words or less. Mrs. Stanley won the first prize of $250. [6]
A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that choices are available. The best known Hobson's choice is "I'll give you a choice: take it or leave it", wherein "leaving it" is strongly undesirable.
Twitter user Ronnie Joyce came across the poem above on the wall of a bar in London, England. While at first the text seems dreary and depressing, the poem actually has a really beautiful message.
In this sense, the poem reflects on how we reconcile our decisions over time, often giving more weight to the moment of decision-making --with the wisdom of hindsight-- than was true at the original time. And yet, the phrase "perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear" speaks to a want or desire drawn out from a lack of "wear".
The lines are not simply rhythmic: the rhythm is regular within a line, and is the same for each line. A poem having a regular rhythm (not all poems do) is said to follow a certain meter. In "The Destruction of Sennacherib," each line has the basic pattern of two unstressed syllables followed by a third stressed syllable, with this basic ...
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The phrase is an abridged form [3] of the 1904 poem "Success" by Bessie Anderson Stanley which begins: He achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much This phrase was subsequently popularized by Ann Landers [ failed verification ] and a 1990 Dear Abby column, where it was misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson .