The stanzas also use consistent examples of perfect rhymes. The first two stanzas contain five lines, known as quintains, the second stanza contains three lines, known as a tercet, and the fourth stanza contains four lines. ‘Don’t Quit’ by Edgar Albert Guest is a four-stanza poem divided into uneven sets of lines. The poem ends on the same note in which it began, inspiring readers to stick through the fight even when “you’re hardest hit.” On these occasions, he says, “rest if you must, but don’t you quit.” As the lines progress, the speaker includes several vague descriptions of people who have struggled, quit without knowing how close they were to success. One might want to be happy but also have to deal with negative circumstances out of their control. In the first stanzas of this poem, the speaker admits that things are going to seem “low” at points in one’s life. ‘Don’t Quit’ by Edgar Albert Guest is an inspirational poem that should inspire readers to work hard no matter how impossible a situation seems. So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst, you must not quit. Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,Īnd when you never can tell how close you are, Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup Īnd he learned too late when the night came down, Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man When care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must, but don't you quit.Īnd many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.ĭon't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow. When the funds are low and the debts are high,Īnd you want to smile but you have to sigh, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, One needs to work hard and never give in to the desire to quit. It doesn’t matter what kind of situation one is in.
He spends the four stanzas asking readers to persevere no matter how hard their life is. It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.ĭo you have a poem to submit to “The People’s Friend”? Click here for some advice.Throughout ‘ Don’t Quit,’ American poet Edgar Albert Guest uses simple language and diction to convey an inspirational message to readers. So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit – When we might have won had we stuck it out.ĭon’t give up though the pace seems slow – Life is strange with its twists and turns, When the funds are low but the debts are high,Īnd you want to smile but you have to sigh, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, You can hear Idris reading the inspiring poem here.īelow we’ve slightly abridged and adapted it. “He fitted in well with the liking for traditional themes of friendship, devotion, home and nature in the ‘Friend’.”
“Appropriately known as ‘The People’s Poet’, he preferred to describe himself simply as ‘a newspaper man who wrote verses’. The majority offer a sentimental view of ordinary life. “Guest is estimated to have written over 11,000 poems during his career. “The poetry in the “Friend” in the Sixties was dominated, as in the late Fifties, by the poems of Edgar A Guest, a prolific writer of verse who was born in Birmingham in 1881 and later moved to Detroit in the USA with his family. Here’s a little bit about Edgar from the Fiction Special: Guest was a name that appeared time and again throughout our 1950s and 1960s issues. There’s a “Friend” connection, too! When we were in our Archive, collating poems and stories for our 150th Fiction Special, Edgar A. It’s a gentle reminder to us all that even the most trying of times will end, and there are sunnier skies ahead. Guest wrote the inspirational “Don’t Quit” in the 1920s. One morning recently, just before Breakfast News began at 6am, I heard Idris Elba reading a poem on the BBC.
#Dont quit poem tv
I’m not usually much of a TV person, but like everyone else at the moment, I’ve been tuning in to see how things are developing with the coronavirus situation.
It’s the best part of the day, my mum always says! I’m an early bird – usually up before six. Is there anything more inspiring than poetry? Sign up to our Weekly newsletter Subscribe to our magazine for more great content
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