Question

I basically have to put this poem in my own words. Some sentences I don't really understand, so it would be a great help to me if you could tell me what they mean. I have to rephrase each sentence. After the semicolon, a new sentence begins.

Here is the poem;

Success
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Rephrasement;

To laugh often and much:

-Find humour in things and enjoy every bit

To win the respect of intelligent people:

-Behave nicely and well before elders and show compassion for children

To earn the appreciation of honest critics:

-???????????????????

To appreciate beauty:

-to love others for who they are?

To find the best in others:

-To find one's best qualities

To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition:

-To clean after yourself; keep organized..... (what else?)

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived:

-?????????????????

The last line of the poem is "This is to have succeeded"- I don't think I have to rephrase that do I?

Answer 1

<b>It's not always a good idea to take a poem one line at a time. Sometimes you need to read and consider the lines in groups or pairs. </b>

To laugh often and much;

to win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;

to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

<b>Here are two websites that give you some good ideas about reading and interpreting poetry. (You can ignore the parts about explicating or explaining.)

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/poetry-explication.html

http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/best/study/poetry.htm</b>