Poetry C

1. The Truly Great
The poem “The Truly Great” by “Stephen Spender” broadly describes what makes a person
"truly" great. The poem was written in the 1930's during war time, this no doubt influenced the
poet. However, soldiers are not the only people he is referring to. He is essentially referring to
anyone who selflessly fights for what they believe in. The Truly Great consists of 3 stanzas of
free verse poetry. Spender has incorporated the poetic devices of Enjambment, heavy Symbolism
and Metaphors to describe the traits of the great heroes of the past.
"I think continually of those who were truly great
Who, from the womb, remembered the soul's history
Through corridors of light where the hours are suns,
Endless and singing."
In the first stanza Spender commences his poem with an open statement saying that he thinks
often of those individuals who have made a big difference in the world. He refers to these
individuals as ‘the truly great’, which is fairly straightforward. However, his description of them
which comes in the following line is not so blunt. Here the poet makes an important defining
point in the word "truly", it sets the theme for the rest of the poem which expands upon this idea
of truth showing what it is and how it effects the air it touches. Another important word here is
"continually", in my mind something cannot be thought of continually without some form of
prompting (this prompting is his musing or concern over the men in the war). In the next few
lines he defines artistically a characteristic he believes to be endowed in men of true greatness,
that of passion. He says that even before birth these men are filled with passion and love ("soul's
history"), where they enjoy every moment in and "endless" indulgence in passion and enjoyment
("singing"). In comparing them to a child in the "womb", he endows these men or woman with a
child's willingness to participate or enjoy things (old and new). Spender describes these truly
great people as those ‘who remembered the soul’s history from the womb’. This could hold
multiple meanings. The first and most obvious meaning is in which the word soul can be taken as
symbolism to represent people, for all people have one thing in common which is a soul. Spender
could be saying that these truly great people are those who literally always kept in mind the
history of people. By forever remembering what humankind had gone through from the
beginning of time, it allowed these individuals to be passionate about making a change and
therefore they become so great. ‘Those who remembered the soul’s history from the womb’
could also be a way of saying that these people remembered that they had come from God and
therefore focused their life on trying to achieve something more because materialistic pleasures
did not appeal to them. Spender uses enjambment at the end of this line to transition on to the
next few lines in the stanza which shows that the next few lines are further discussing the traits
of the truly great.
“Was that their lips, still touched with fire,
Should tell of the spirit clothed from head to foot in song.

2. And who hoarded from the spring branches
The desires falling across their bodies like blossoms.”
The poet continues to talk about the idea of passion in this passage. He refers to the "endless
singing", emphasizing the idea of childlike exuberance from the womb with the word "still". He
says that their actions ("lips" with reference to "singing") still filled with passion ("fire") tell of
the spirit or their strong beliefs in everything that they do ("clothed from head to foot"). The
repetition of this idea of a song of the spirit gives us the idea that their beliefs are unwavering,
steady and strong. The next two lines discuss dreams and the ability to dream unrestrained again
almost like a child. This idea of unrestraint is emphasized by the word "hoarded". In the words
"spring branches" we get the idea of newly growing dreams or "desires" as he puts it. The desires
are compared to newly grown blossoms being taken from a spring branch. This idea of newness,
spring and dreams again seems to illustrate ideas pointing to the character of a child. The use of
the word "bodies" could shed a different interpretation of this; the flowers are dreams and
desires.
“What is precious, is never to forget
The essential delight of the blood drawn from ageless springs
Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth.
Never to deny its pleasure in the morning simple light
Nor its grave evening demand for love.
Never to allow gradually the traffic to smother
With noise and fog, the flowering of the spirit.”
The second stanza uses Symbolism again to refer to the hard work of the truly great as blood
drawn from springs. He states that there is an essential happiness that accompanies drawing the
blood from springs, showing us that these individuals conducted all their great acts and hard
work with true happiness and not while complaining. Spender states that their effort has broken
through rocks before our earth, which is another way to say that their efforts are timeless.
Spender concludes this stanza by discussing how the truly great never allowed traffic, or rather,
discouraging words and distractions to prevent them from reaching for their goals and ambitions.
Spender once again discusses ‘the spirit’ which most likely refers to the vision and willpower
these great individuals possessed.
“Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields,
See how these names are fêted by the waving grass
And by the streamers of white cloud
And whispers of wind in the listening sky.
The names of those who in their lives fought for life,
Who wore at their hearts the fire’s centre.”
The last stanza is very descriptive and full of imagery. This stanza has one main message and
that is that these people will never be forgotten. This is an elaboration of his statement in the

3. second stanza in which he states that ‘what is precious is never to forget’. Apart from referring to
the work of the individuals as something precious, Spender now refers to the individuals
themselves as precious too. Spender is stating that in every high place on earth; the snow of the
mountaintops, the waving grass-filled meadows, the clouds and the winds all whisper the names
of these great people. In this stanza Spender reveals that these heroes may not be poets but rather
military individuals who lost their lives fighting for their country because of his description of
their effort as ‘fought for life’. The first stanza also mentioned their efforts as blood drawn from
wells so it is very likely that Spender had written this poem about military individuals, especially
since The Truly Great was written shortly after world war one.
“Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun
And left the vivid air signed with their honour.”
The last verse in the poem is truly artistic in the way it glorifies these great people. Spender
states that they were born of the sun which is a metaphor for the fact that they were so full of
energy and life that they followed their dreams and ambitions and in doing so signed the air with
their honor, or in other words, they left a lasting mark on the world.
In conclusion we can say by using metaphors, symbolism, enjambment and beautiful imagery;
Stephen Spender has created a wonderful piece of literary art in which he successfully manages
to glorify and remind the reader not to forget those who have made great sacrifices to bring
better changes into our lives. Spender successfully guides the reader through the achievements of
those of the past, without directly mentioning any particular event. It is not exactly clear who is
being praised in The Truly Great, but it could be a poem about poets and how much they have
contributed to bringing change in the world, or it could be a poem about war and glorifying the
military persons who lost their lives trying to defend us. Lastly, it could be a poem defining what
greatness truly is in all aspects of life.