Success is counted Sweetest by Emily Dickinson

1. Language Through Literature
Semester 2
Visionary Gleam
Success is Counted Sweetest
-Emily Dickinson

2. Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.
Not one of all the Purple Host
Who took the Flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear of Victory
As he defeated - dying -
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear !
Success is
Counted
Sweetest
-Emily
Dickinson

3. Long Answer
Emily Dickinson, a major American poet in the poem ‘ Success is
Counted Sweetest’, deal with basic human concerns such as love,
pain, fame, death and immortality. The reflection of an intense and
painful struggle is noted in simple diction, colloquial rhythms and
unconventional imagery. The key message in the poem states that to
achieve success we have to undergo pain of defeat. And that is vital to
progress.
The first stanza which is in quatrain, establishes the base theme: that
the one who can best understand the true meaning and value of
success is the person who has faced failure.
‘Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed.’
To appreciate the taste of nectar one has to be really in deep desire to
attain. In Greek mythology, nectar was the drink of the gods, which
has the power to give immortality. In common usage, a nectar is any
delicious drink or, figuratively, any uplifting experience.

4. Emily Dickinson spends the entire poem exploring
ideas through their opposites. In this case, she is talking
about the idea of "victory" specifically in battle, which it
can be assumed is in reference to the victory of the
Northern Army in the Civil War of 1862.
Dickinson tries to explore ideas in the whole poem
using opposites. She states that in war one nation loses
and other wins. The word "purple" throughout history
(especially early history), was meant to symbolize royalty.
Long ago, in England, it was the most popular cloth
because the dye could only be made by grinding tiny sea
snails. So we can say that Emily Dickinson might want us
to think about the "royal" nature of victorious ones, "who
took the flag today."

5. However, purple can also be used to represent the
bloodshed in battle. Therefore, because the "Host" is
"purple," (soldiers) perhaps it was a battle that was not
easily won. Nevertheless, the "purple Host" will not have
as good an understanding of victory as the losing side. So,
perhaps, we can also say that Emily Dickinson might want
us to think about the "bloody" nature of those who were
victorious, "who took the flag today" and not so easy a
task.
The defeated and dying soldier mentioned in the poem
is compensated by a greater awareness of the meaning of
victory than the victors themselves can have: he can
understand the joy of success through its polar contrast to
his own despair.

6. On a first reading, we are much impressed with the
wretchedness (unhappiness) of the dying soldier’s lot, and
an improved understanding of the nature of victory may
seem small compensation for defeat and death; but the
more one thinks over this poem the likelier it grows that
Emily Dickinson is arguing against the superiority of
defeat to victory, of frustration to satisfaction, and of
anguished comprehension to mere possession.
They have paid for their victory by a sacrifice of
awareness; a material gain has cost them a spiritual loss.
For the dying soldier, the case is reversed: defeat and
death are attended by an increase of awareness, and
material loss had led to spiritual gain. Emily Dickinson
would think that the better bargain.

7. Certainly Emily Dickinson’s critics are right in calling
this poem an expression of the idea of compensation—of the idea
that every evil discusses some balancing good, that through
bitterness we learn to appreciate the sweet, that “Water is taught
by thirst.’
Comprehension:
1. To whom is success the sweetest?
2. What does the poet mean by the word ‘nectar’?
3. Who can best define victory?
4. What are the different strains of triumphs that the defeated
person hears?
5. Do you think the poet looks down upon those who are
defeated? Why or why not?