Poem Analysis

The Truly Great

By Stephen Spender
In Stephen Spender’s Poem ‘The Truly Great’, he discusses the traits of heroes who have passed
away before us.
Stephen Spender
Nationality: English
Stephen Spender was an English poet and essayist.
Much of his work, written prior to his death in 1995, was about class differences and injustice.

Poems
In Stephen Spender’s Poem ‘The Truly Great’, he discusses the traits of heroes who have passed
away before us. Spender has artistically developed a sort of reminiscent piece of writing in which
he elaborately glorifies the doings, and particularly, the traits of those historical figures that have
passed before us, leaving a lasting mark in this world. It is interesting to note that Spender
chooses to only glorify figures of the past and not of the present. This could be a way of
mourning the decreasing amount of ambition in people today, or it could simply be that Spender
wanted to write a tribute to all those great people who sacrificed their lives, from the womb to
the grave, in order to make a difference in the world. The latter is most likely the case because,
throughout the entire poem, there is a very positive and optimistic attitude, nothing bitter or
contemptuous which would imply that Spender wanted to shame this generation for lack of
ambition.

‘The Truly Great’ consists of 3 stanzas of free verse poetry. Spender has incorporated the poetic
devices of enjambment, heavy symbolism, and metaphors to beautifully describe the traits of the
great heroes of the past.

The Truly Great by Stephen Spender

Analysis of The Truly Great
First Stanza
I think continually of those who were truly great.
Who, from the womb, remembered the soul’s history
(…)
And who hoarded from the Spring branches
The desires falling across their bodies like blossoms.
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. 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 in 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 became 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 lives 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.
The next few lines of the first stanza are heavy with metaphors and symbolism.
Through corridors of light, where the hours are suns,
Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambition
Was that their lips, still touched with fire,
The above portion of the first stanza uses metaphors to relate hours to suns and symbolism to
relate their noble words to lips on fire. Spender is revealing to us here that these truly great
people dwell in a constant light where the hours are suns. The sun is the main source of energy
on Earth. It is brilliant and a source of great inspiration, therefore Spender could be saying that
every hour was a source of great inspiration full of achievement. Spender goes on to state that
these great people had ambition, and their ambition could be seen by the words that they spoke to
the people. Over here one can question whether Spender was referring to himself, or all
renowned poets, as poets are known for making an impact on the world through their words.
Spender concludes the first stanza by stating that the truly great discussed their ambitions with
full energy, like the blossoms of spring which are another symbol of life itself, they brought
much change and happiness into the world through their constant toils.

Second Stanza
What is precious, is never to forget
The essential delight of the blood drawn from ageless springs
(…)
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.

Third Stanza
Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields,
See how these names are fêted by the waving grass
(…)
Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun
And left the vivid air signed with their honour.
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
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 I.
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.
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.