How did you die : poem and poem analysis

Poem – How did you die

Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?

You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what’s that?
Come up with a smiling face.
It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there — that’s disgrace.
The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts,
It’s how did you fight —  and why?

And though you be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he’s slow or spry,
It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,
But only how did you die?

Who is Edmund Vance Cooke?

Edmund Vance Cooke, born on June 5 in Port Dover, Canada and died on December 18, 1932 was popularly known as The poet of Childhood. He started his career as a worker in White Sewing Machine Co. Factory at the age between 13 to 14 years and served for 14 years in the factory. Later he was self employed as poet and lecturer in 1893.His first book of poem A Patch of Pansies (1894). He was married to Lilith Castleberry in 1989 and had five children. He has published 16 books in which most of them are verse. He had also contributed his poems to WWJ radio station, Detroit News in 1920. His poem “How did you die?” was published in 1903. His other well known works are Impertinent Poems, Chronicles of the Little Tot, I Rule the House, The Story Club and others.

Line by line interpretation

Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?

The poem starts with rising a question to second person you (either to someone or reader) that how you could face the problems in life. The speaker in the poem may or may not to the poet, he asks whether you accepted it with resolute heart and cheerful. The resolute heart gives reader the idea that how determined and steady one was to encounter the predicament. The use of word cheerful shows that a determination has come along with confidence where smile on face makes one firm and concrete fight.

The speaker asks if you had not tackled the trouble, then did you hide your face from the light of day, the phrase means to get revealed to public. So he questions whether you refused to admit your failures with cowardice and fear of confrontation.

Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?

No matter whether trouble is huge as a ton or trivial as an ounce, trouble is always a trouble. So the presence of trouble effects everyone in life. Speaker says that trouble is personal and it depends upon how one considers it and attends it. And what matters here is not how it effects you but the way you respond to the trouble. He tries to clarify that tackling the problem means more than the intensity of the problem.

You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what’s that?
Come up with a smiling face.
It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there — that’s disgrace.

The expression beaten to earth represents how badly one has failed in his efforts. The effect of word beaten is felt when read and it appropriately creates the feel of fall. Speaker justifies that what’s wrong in being overthrown or fall down flat, but one should always fight back with smiling face. Here smiling face denotes hope and positivity. He also says that experiencing defeat is acceptable but not it’s permanence. Live with a ray of hope even in your crisis.

The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts,
It’s how did you fight —  and why?

Speaker believes life is like ball, harder you are thrown higher you bounce. In other words harder the iron is hit better is its shape. In life when we are exposed to greater problems, the success that derives from it will also be great. He says be proud of your blackened eye, referring here to the shame or dishonour earned from failures of life. Licked denotes to hard hit one undergoes, which is least important than recovery. It matters that how and why you fightback in life! The purpose in these lines are the reason for motivation to keep battling against problems.

And though you be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.

In the last stanza, speaker says even if you are done to death, meaning attempted or fought many times what matters is whether you gave your best to the mankind (or can either mean participated amongst competitive people), while a critic might praise you for your struggle and determination.

Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he’s slow or spry,
It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,
But only how did you die?

At the end of the poem speaker says that Death might either advance as slow poison or kill suddenly with no prior knowledge. Whether you live your life slow or spry, slow can mean calm or sluggish and spry referring energetic and active. In life what matters is not that one is dead but how one died! The last line of the poem has been taken as the title of the poem.

The last line of the poem has deeper meaning than it’s literal meaning. Now, dying is an act where it speaks about the end of one’s life. So the last moment of being alive is precious to everyone, thus the act of dying in particular situation has its importance. A soldier holding the flag of his nation while loosing his last breath signifies heroic death to him. According to speaker he feels that the way one dies determines what and how his life was.

How did you die poem summary

Edmund Vance Cooke through the poem How did you die motivates and inspires readers to reason out life and understand it’s purpose. The poem seems to be justification for one’s life. Through the poem Edmund tries to show readers that life is more significant than death. One should live his life to the fullest facing all the challenges and defeat as stepping stone of success. Even if one gains constant failures, it is he who should give his best and battle until the last moment of life before death takes away his life.

The poem also speaks about how to admit trouble, it’s nature, to recover from defeat and to fight back hundred percent until the curtain rises. The poem helps reader to sled introspect his life and produces sufficient impetus for motivation. The worth of life is conceptualised in the poem.

Structure and style of the poem

The poem has three stanzas with rhyme pattern ababcdcd. In a stanza further two phases are presented, that is speaker in the first (sometimes also in second) line puts up a question, later in the following lines a statement or opinion and at the end of the stanza a conclusion. The pattern is adopted in all the three stanzas.

The poem is in the form of questions asked to second person you. You can be unanimous, reader or the inner self of the speaker. The tone of the poem is speaker speaking to someone, the use of conjunction like Or, And,But, If, Oh, and Well and short sentences enhance the tone.

Metaphors and Anaphora

* Light of day- to hide one’s self from public, being ashamed.

* Beaten to Earth- defeated completely.

* Blackened eye- shame and dishonor.

* Done to death- working very hard and making constant attempts.

“If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,”

The above lines is example for the Anaphora technique used.

Themes

*Life:

The poem emphasizes on the importance of life and it’s significance. It inspires to live the life at most with no stones unturned for success.

* Facing trouble with strength:

The poem exposes the harsh realities of life along with lines of motivation

Conclusion

How did you die poem has potential of evoking self motivation in an individual. One perspective helps in understanding the poem as an Ode to Warriors where their every second is battle with life. The thin line of difference between the the life and death decides what a life a man has led.