Henry Lawson

Take It Fightin’

Take It Fightin’ - meaning Summary

Defiance as Resilience

Lawson’s short poem urges stubborn resistance in the face of despair. Its repeated imperative, "Take it fightin’," addresses people pushed to the wall or into the gutter and calls for defiant endurance rather than surrender. The poem also valorizes a kind of fearless fool who cannot be scared or bluffed, naming such stubbornness a form of sovereignty. The chant-like repetition gives the poem a communal, rallying quality.

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When you’ve got no chance at all, Take it fightin’. When you’re driven to the wall, Take it fightin’. There are things that we delight in For the wrongin’ or the rightin’, But the fool you cannot frighten (That you cannot bluff nor frighten) He is King of all. (Take it fightin’.) When you’re down an’ out an’ utter, Take it fightin’; When they’ve put you in the gutter, Take it fightin’. There are things that we delight in For the wrongin’ or the rightin’, But the fool you cannot frighten (That you cannot bluff nor frighten) He is King of all. (Take it fightin’.)

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