A Nation’s Strength
by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1904)
What makes a nation’s pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?
It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.
Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.
And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In this poem i find that the poet is trying to say that it isn't gold, metals, won wars, etc. that makes a nation what it is, it's its people that make it what it is. Nations that only focus on power and not on its people end up crashing down like some of the great empires that have lived in this world, which I believe is now happening to America. People/society is the foundation of a nation and they are the "pillars" that keep it standing...
ReplyDeleteI agree with jonny... Emerson is trying to say that its not those material things that makes a great nation, Emerson believes that a great nation is made by great man, which brings me to my favorite stanza of the poem:
ReplyDeleteNot gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
this stanza portrays the message of the poem to the dot. this stanza also shows the rhyme scheme of the poem which is based off alternating rhymes.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete