He Had His Dream

Question

He had his dream, and all through life, Worked up to it through toil and strife. Afloat fore'er before his eyes, It colored for him all his skies: The storm-cloud dark Above his bark, The calm and listless vault of blue Took on its hopeful hue, It tinctured every passing beam-
He had his dream.

He labored hard and failed at last.

His sails too weak to bear the blast, The raging tempests tore away And sent his beating bark astray.

But what cared he For wind or sea!

He said, "The tempest will be short, My bark will come to port." He saw through every cloud a gleam- He had his dream.

Which statement about why dreams fail is illustrated by the metaphor of the bark in the poem?

Failure is caused by a character defect.

2 Failure is caused by lack of effort

3. Failure is caused by insufficient resources.

4. Failure is caused by external forces.

Answer 1

The statement that best illustrates why dreams fail in the context of the metaphor of the bark in the poem is:

3. Failure is caused by insufficient resources.

The poem describes how the speaker's "sails" are "too weak to bear the blast," suggesting that the bark (representing the speaker's efforts or dreams) lacks the necessary strength or resources to withstand the challenges and external conditions (the storm and tempests). This implies that despite the desire to achieve the dream, the insufficient resources ultimately lead to failure.