Autobiography poem definition of a man
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No deceit,
No knowledge taught by unrelenting years,
Can quench this fierce, untamable desire.
We know that what we long for once achieved
Will cease to satisfy. From Kipling's emphasis on moral fortitude to Henley's unwavering spirit, Frost's celebration of individuality, and Whitman's call for self-acceptance, each poem invites readers to reflect on their own understanding of manhood.
In the dreadful days
When in a toil his feet were caught
He hacked his way to glory bright
Before his day went down in night.
Follow the link above to read the full poem.
AE, ‘The Last Hero’.
We laid him to rest with tenderness;
Homeward we turned in the twilight’s gold;
We thought in ourselves with dumb distress—
All the story of earth is told.
A beautiful word at the last was said:
A great deep heart like the hearts of old
Went forth; and the speaker had lost the thread,
Or all the story of earth was told.
The dust hung over the pale dry ways
Dizzily fired with the twilight’s gold,
And a bitter remembrance blew in each face
How all the story of earth was told.
AE, real name George William Russell (1867-1935), wrote this poem during the First World War, when the traditional idea of heroism was being sorely tested by machine warfare and mass industrial slaughter.
Amy Lowell, ‘Hero-Worship’.
Below is a selection of both kinds.
Sappho, ‘He Is More Than a Hero’. The poem is a sonnet – but note how each line ends with the same consonant, the ‘n’ sound.
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Poetic autobiography is a narrative form in poetry that conveys the poet's personal history and experiences through verse.
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
While not explicitly about manhood, Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" offers valuable insights into the choices individuals make as they navigate life's journey. What sort of psychological type does it take to make a good soldier?
Is this a poem about the visceral, powerful act of writing, or about having some, ahem, ‘time to oneself’ in the toilet?
Among these themes, manhood and masculinity have been subjects of profound contemplation and artistic expression. Kipling's powerful words highlight the importance of maintaining composure and strength in the face of adversity.
Famous Poems about Manhood: Exploring Masculinity Through Poetry
Poetry has long been a medium through which artists and writers explore the complexities of the human experience.
Ireland has had its fair share of heroes in history and myth, and in this contemporary poem, the female Irish poet Eavan Boland muses upon how she fits in with Ireland’s heroic past.
Although, as Boland has said in an interview, no statue such as she describes in the poem actually exists, it neatly expresses the aspects of the hero which Boland associates with Irish culture and history.
The poem's emphasis on embracing one's own unique identity, flaws, and all, encourages men to forge their own paths, liberated from societal expectations. 630-570 BCE), and is also an early example of a female poet writing to another woman about her desire for her.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, ‘Ulysses’. Readers are often divided on that issue…
Rabindranath Tagore, ‘The Hero’.
The Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was known as the Bard of Bengal and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, wrote this long poem about a child who imagines that he saves his mother from dacoits, or bandits.
Frost's words capture the essence of manhood by emphasizing the importance of personal agency and the willingness to take the road less traveled—a metaphor for making independent choices that shape one's identity.
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
4.
"Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman's magnum opus "Song of Myself" celebrates the multifaceted nature of manhood and humanity as a whole. "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley
In his poignant poem "Invictus," William Ernest Henley explores the indomitable spirit of manhood.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
We could have chosen a number of other Tennyson poems here – ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is one obvious alternative – but we’ve opted for ‘Ulysses’ because it’s about a hero of classical myth, Odysseus (or Ulysses to the Romans) and so follows Sappho’s poem nicely.
In this classic dramatic monologue, the ageing Ulysses prepares to leave his home of Ithaca and sail off into the sunset on one last adventure.
We include the full text of her hero-worship poem below:
A face seen passing in a crowded street,
A voice heard singing music, large and free;
And from that moment life is changed, and we
Become of more heroic temper, meet
To freely ask and give, a man complete
Radiant because of faith, we dare to be
What Nature meant us.
The poem reminds us that true manhood lies not in physical prowess but in moral character.
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise."
2.
"Song of Myself" serves as a powerful ode to the inherent strength found in self-acceptance.
"I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you."
These famous poems offer profound insights and perspectives on manhood, exploring the qualities, struggles, and triumphs that define masculinity.
"If—" by Rudyard Kipling
One of the most celebrated poems about manhood, "If—" by Rudyard Kipling, offers a thoughtful reflection on the qualities that define a man. From love and loss to nature and spirituality, poets have delved into various themes.