The Successful Man Has Thrust Himself
The Successful Man Has Thrust Himself - meaning Summary
Triumph Built on Corpses
Crane's poem sketches a corrosive portrait of worldly success. The successful man is shown as physically stained by past errors and moral violence, trading on the bodies and wisdom of others to build wealth and status. He rests complacent and ignorant, proclaiming triumph while standing on the dead and the defeated. The poem condemns hollow victory and hypocritical innocence, suggesting that social success is bought with exploitation and self-deception.
Read Complete AnalysesThe successful man has thrust himself Through the water of the years, Reeking wet with mistakes -- Bloody mistakes; Slimed with victories over the lesser, A figure thankful on the shore of money. Then, with the bones of fools He buys silken banners Limned with his triumphant face; With the skins of wise men He buys the trivial bows of all. Flesh painted with marrow Contributes a coverlet, A coverlet for his contented slumber. In guiltless ignorance, in ignorant guilt, He delivered his secrets to the riven multitude. "Thus I defended: Thus I wrought." Complacent, smiling, He stands heavily on the dead. Erect on a pillar of skulls He declaims his trampling of babes; Smirking, fat, dripping, He makes speech in guiltless ignorance, Innocence.
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