"For the Man Who Fails" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

 

For the Man Who Fails

The world is a snob, and the man who wins

Is the chap for its money’s worth:

And the lust for success causes half of the sins

That are cursing this brave old earth.

For it ’s fine to go up, and the world’s applause

Is sweet to the mortal ear;

But the man who fails in a noble cause

Is a hero that ’s no less dear.

 

‘T is true enough that the laurel crown

Twines but for the victor’s brow;

For many a hero has lain him down

With naught but the cypress bough.

There are gallant men in the losing fight,

And as gallant deeds are done

As ever graced the captured height

Or the battle grandly won.

 

We sit at life’s board with our nerves highstrung,

And we play for the stake of Fame,

And our odes are sung and our banners hung

For the man who wins the game.

But I have a song of another kind

Than breathes in these fame–wrought gales,—

An ode to the noble heart and mind

Of the gallant man who fails! 

 

The man who is strong to fight his fight,

And whose will no front can daunt,

If the truth be truth and the right be right,

Is the man that the ages want.

Tho’ he fail and die in grim defeat,

Yet he has not fled the strife,

And the house of Earth will seem more sweet

For the perfume of his life.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/3lo95X_Ei00

Who wrote the poem "For the Man Who Fails"?

Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906)

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Born to parents who were freed slaves from Kentucky, Dunbar began writing stories and poems from 6 and published his first poem at 16. He was the only African-American student at Central High School in Dayton, Ohio. But he was well accepted among students and was elected as president of the school’s literary society, and became the editor of the school newspaper. Dunbar later became one of the first African-American writers to gain an international literary fame. He died from tuberculosis in Dayton, Ohio at 33.

"For the Man Who Fails" explanation

In the poem, the speaker cherishes those unsung heroes who fought worthy fights but failed to win. In his view they are no less dear a hero than winners, if not dearer. We all have noble purposes and are facing our own battles in life. Are you willing to risk failures to pursue noble goals and fight worthy fights?