Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VICTORY IN DEFEAT by EDWIN MARKHAM

Poet Analysis

First Line: DEFEAT MAY SERVE AS WELL AS VICTORY
Last Line: TO STRETCH OUR SPACES IN THE HEART FOR JOY.
Subject(s): DEFEAT; GRIEF; HAPPINESS; SORROW; SADNESS; JOY; DELIGHT;
Defeat may serve as well as victory
To shake the soul and let the glory out.
When the great oak is straining in the wind,
The boughs drink in new beauty, and the trunk
Sends down a deeper root on the windward side.
Only the soul that knows the mighty grief
Can know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come
To stretch our spaces in the heart for joy.



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