Don't Quit - Edgar Albert Guest

 

Don't Quit

Edgar Albert Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

when the funds are low and the debts are high,

and you want to smile but you have to sigh,

when care is pressing you down a bit — rest if you must, but don't you quit.

 

Life is queer with its twists and turns.

As everyone of us sometimes learns.

And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow — you may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;

 

Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup;

and he learned too late when the night came down,

how close he was to the golden crown.

 

Success is failure turned inside out — the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

and when you never can tell how close you are,

it may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit — it's when things seem worst, you must not quit.

 

Stanza 1: Painting the Picture of Struggle

• "When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,"
• Explanation: The poem opens with a universal, gentle admission: adversity is a normal, expected part of life. It establishes empathy and realism.
• "when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,"
• Explanation: A metaphor comparing life's journey to a difficult, exhausting climb. "Trudging" implies heavy, weary effort.
• "when the funds are low and the debts are high,"
• Explanation: Moves from a general to a specific, material struggle—financial hardship. This concrete imagery makes the struggle relatable.
• "and you want to smile but you have to sigh,"
• Explanation: Captures the emotional conflict and weariness. It's about the disparity between how you feel inside (wanting optimism) and what you express (resignation).
• "when care is pressing you down a bit —"
• Explanation: "Care" here means worries, anxieties. The personification of care "pressing you down" visualizes the psychological weight of stress.
• "rest if you must, but don't you quit."
• Explanation: The poem's core thesis and refrain. It makes a crucial distinction: pausing for recovery is permissible and wise, but abandonment of the goal is not. This is the central message of resilience.

Stanza 2: The Nature of Life and the Cost of Quitting

• "Life is queer with its twists and turns."
• Explanation: "Queer" is used in its older sense meaning "strange" or "unpredictable." Acknowledges life's inherent uncertainty.
• "As every one of us sometimes learns."
• Explanation: Reaffirms universality. This isn't a lesson for a few, but a common human experience.
• "And many a fellow turns about / when he might have won had he stuck it out."
• Explanation: Introduces the poem's key cautionary tale: the person who quits prematurely, right at the cusp of success. "Turns about" is a powerful image of giving up and walking away.
• "Don't give up though the pace seems slow —"
• Explanation: Direct, imperative advice. It addresses the frustration of slow or invisible progress.
• "you may succeed with another blow."
• Explanation: "Blow" here means a continued effort or attempt (like a blacksmith striking metal). Success may come from one more try.

Stanza 3: The Illusion of Distance and the Tragic Mistake

• "Often the goal is nearer than / it seems to a faint and faltering man;"
• Explanation: Presents a profound psychological insight. Exhaustion ("faint") and doubt ("faltering") distort our perception, making the goal seem farther away than it is.
• "Often the struggler has given up / when he might have captured the victor's cup;"
• Explanation: Extends the cautionary tale with a potent symbol of victory ("the victor's cup"). It heightens the tragedy of quitting.
• "and he learned too late when the night came down,"
• Explanation: "Night" symbolizes finality, the end of the opportunity. The realization comes after the chance is gone.
• "how close he was to the golden crown."
• Explanation: Another, even grander symbol of achievement ("golden crown"). The double symbolism (cup and crown) emphasizes the magnitude of the lost reward.

Stanza 4: The Paradox of Success and the Final Exhortation

• "Success is failure turned inside out —"
• Explanation: The poem's most famous and philosophical line. It presents success and failure not as opposites, but as two sides of the same coin. Persistence is what flips one into the other.
• "the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,"
• Explanation: A beautiful metaphor. The dark "clouds of doubt" have a "silver tint"—the hidden lining of potential success. You must push through the doubt to see the silver.
• "and you never can tell how close you are,"
• Explanation: Reiterates the theme of perceptual illusion. Uncertainty is a constant.
• "it may be near when it seems afar;"
• Explanation: Restates the core idea in simple, parallel language for emphasis.
• "So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit —"
• Explanation: Returns to the battle metaphor ("fight," "hardest hit"). The advice is specifically for the moment of greatest impact and pain.
• "it's when things seem worst, you must not quit."
• Explanation: The powerful, concluding couplet. It directly links the extremity of the situation ("seem worst") with the imperative to persist. The worst moment is the most crucial test of character.

Stanza-Wise Summary

Stanza 1: The Universal Portrait of Struggle
This stanza vividly catalogues the common hardships of life: unexpected failures, exhausting effort ("uphill road"), financial strain, emotional fatigue (wanting to smile but sighing), and the oppressive weight of worry. It builds empathy by listing relatable adversities and then delivers its core, compassionate command: it is acceptable to pause and rest to recover strength, but the fundamental act of quitting is forbidden. This establishes the poem's central thesis on resilience.

Stanza 2: The Warning Against Premature Surrender
The poet reflects on life's inherent unpredictability ("twists and turns")—a lesson everyone learns. It then introduces a direct caution: many people give up and turn back ("turns about") precisely at the moment when perseverance would have led to victory. The advice is clear: despite frustratingly slow progress, one must continue because success often comes with the next sustained effort ("another blow").

Stanza 3: The Illusion of Failure and Its Tragic Cost
This stanza delves into the psychology of discouragement. It argues that when a person is weary and doubting ("faint and faltering"), their perception becomes distorted; the goal is often much closer than it appears. The poet laments the common tragedy of the struggler who abandons their effort just steps away from claiming the "victor's cup" or "golden crown." The realization of this near-success comes too late, "when the night came down," symbolizing missed opportunity and finality.

Stanza 4: The Paradox of Success and the Final Exhortation
The concluding stanza presents the poem's most philosophical insight: Success is simply the inverse of failure ("failure turned inside out"). It is the hidden potential ("silver tint") within the "clouds of doubt." Since one can never accurately gauge proximity to a breakthrough, it may be imminent even when it feels distant. Therefore, the poet issues the ultimate imperative: the darkest, most difficult moment—when you are "hardest hit"—is the precise time to hold on most fiercely. The poem ends by reinforcing its title and core message: when things seem worst, you must not quit.

 

The Priest – Arun Kolatkar

 

The Priest – Arun Kolatkar

 

An offering of heel and haunch

on the cold altar of the culvert wall

the priest waits.

 

Is the bus a little late?

The priest wonders.

Will there be a puran poli on his plate?

 

With a quick intake of testicles

at the touch of the rough cut, dew drenched stone

he turns his head in the sun

 

to look at the long road winding out of sight

with the eventlessness

of the fortune line on a dead man's palm.

 

The sun takes up the priest's head

and pats his cheek

familiarly like the village barber.

 

The bit of betel nut

turning over and over on his tongue

is a mantra.

 

It works.

The bus is no more just a thought in the head.

It's now a dot in the distance

 

and under his lazy lizard stare

it begins to grow

slowly like a wart upon his nose.

 

With a thud and a bump

the bus takes a pothole as it rattles past the priest

and paints his eyeballs blue.

 

The bus goes round in a circle.

Stops inside the bus station and stands

purring softly in front of the priest.

 

A catgrin on its face

and a live, ready to eat pilgrim

held between its teeth.

 Summary

• Analysis: Sets up an expectation of sanctity, ritual, and spiritual authority. The poem will systematically subvert each of these expectations.

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Stanza 1

• Line 1: An offering of heel and haunch

  • Summary: The poem begins with the priest's body described as a sacrificial offering ("heel and haunch" – parts of an animal).

  • Analysis: Immediate subversion. The priest is not the officiant but the offering itself. The vocabulary is visceral and physical, not spiritual. It evokes a butchered carcass, suggesting exploitation and depletion.

• Line 2: on the cold altar of the culvert wall

  • Summary: The place where he waits (a culvert wall) is metaphorically called a "cold altar."

  • Analysis: The "altar" is man-made, utilitarian, and cold—devoid of divine presence or warmth. The sacred ("altar") is displaced onto the mundane and neglected infrastructure of the village/roadside.

• Line 3: the priest waits.

  • Summary: A simple, stark statement of his action.

  • Analysis: Establishes the central condition: waiting. His passivity is highlighted. He is not praying or performing rites, just waiting, likely for the bus.

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Stanza 2

• Lines 4-5: Is the bus a little late? / The priest wonders.

  • Summary: His internal monologue is revealed—a practical, mundane concern.

  • Analysis: The focus is temporal and logistical, not eternal. The bus, a symbol of modern connectivity and schedule, replaces God as the object of anticipation.

• Line 6: Will there be a puran poli on his plate?

  • Summary: He wonders about his next meal, specifically a sweet, festive bread (puran poli).

  • Analysis: Reduces the priest's concerns to basic, bodily needs. The question implies scarcity and dependence on the offerings of others. His priesthood is a means of sustenance.

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Stanza 3

• Lines 7-8: With a quick intake of testicles / at the touch of the rough cut, dew drenched stone

  • Summary: He reacts physically to the cold, rough stone against his body.

  • Analysis: A strikingly intimate and vulnerable physical detail ("intake of testicles"). It emphasizes bodily discomfort and animalistic reaction. The "dew-drenched stone" contrasts with the "cold altar," adding a layer of damp, earthly reality.

• Line 9: he turns his head in the sun

  • Summary: A simple movement, shifting his gaze.

  • Analysis: This turn initiates a shift in perspective, both literally and figuratively, from his immediate discomfort to the distant road.

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Stanza 4

• Lines 10-11: to look at the long road winding out of sight / with the eventlessness

  • Summary: He looks at the empty, uneventful road.

  • Analysis: The road symbolizes time, fate, and the future. Its "eventlessness" mirrors his own stagnant life.

• Line 12: of the fortune line on a dead man's palm.

  • Summary: The road's emptiness is compared to the fortune line on a dead man's palm.

  • Analysis: A powerful simile. A dead man's fortune line is meaningless; his fate is sealed, his future non-existent. This suggests the priest's life is similarly fated, static, and devoid of future promise. It's a crushing image of existential nullity.

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Stanza 5

• Lines 13-15: The sun takes up the priest's head / and pats his cheek / familiarly like the village barber.

  • Summary: The sunlight on his face is described as the sun "patting his cheek" with the familiarity of a barber.

  • Analysis: The sun, often a divine or life-giving symbol, is rendered as a commonplace, slightly intrusive figure. The "barber" suggests a routine, professional intimacy that is neither respectful nor reverential. It underscores the priest's lack of elevated status.

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Stanza 6

• Lines 16-17: The bit of betel nut / turning over and over on his tongue

  • Summary: He is chewing betel nut (a common stimulant).

  • Analysis: A habitual, sensory act. It's what he does while waiting, replacing ritual chanting or prayer.

• Line 18: is a mantra.

  • Summary: This chewing action is metaphorically called a mantra.

  • Analysis: The ultimate subversion. The sacred, recited mantra is replaced by a mechanical, bodily activity. His "prayer" is an automatic, possibly addictive, physical motion aimed at summoning the bus, not God.

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Stanza 7

• Line 19: It works.

  • Summary: A blunt, declarative statement. The "mantra" works.

  • Analysis: Ironic and bathetic. The efficacy of his "mantra" is measured in the material appearance of the bus, not spiritual gain. It mimics the structure of ritual efficacy but empties it of sacred meaning.

• Lines 20-21: The bus is no more just a thought in the head. / It's now a dot in the distance

  • Summary: The bus materializes from a thought into a physical reality.

  • Analysis: Traces the process of anticipation becoming reality. The "dot" is a focal point that breaks the "eventlessness" of the road.

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Stanza 8

• Lines 22-24: and under his lazy lizard stare / it begins to grow / slowly like a wart upon his nose.

  • Summary: As he stares, the bus grows larger, compared to a wart growing on his nose.

  • Analysis: The "lizard stare" suggests a cold-blooded, fixed, predatory gaze. The simile "wart upon his nose" is grotesque and personal. The approaching bus is not welcome or exciting; it is an affliction, an ugly growth imposed on his field of vision, suggesting a parasitic relationship.

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Stanza 9

• Lines 25-27: With a thud and a bump / the bus takes a pothole as it rattles past the priest / and paints his eyeballs blue.

  • Summary: The bus passes him roughly, and for a moment, its color (likely blue) fills his vision.

  • Analysis: The bus is violent ("thud," "bump," "rattles") and disregards him. "Paints his eyeballs blue" is a surreal, almost violent image of perception being forcibly overwhelmed by this machine. He is passive, acted upon.

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Stanza 10

• Lines 28-30: The bus goes round in a circle. / Stops inside the bus station and stands / purring softly in front of the priest.

  • Summary: The bus maneuvers and stops, engine idling ("purring") before him.

  • Analysis: The "circle" suggests a ritual or habitual route. "Purring softly" is a potent anthropomorphism—the bus is like a cat, but the connotation is of a predator that is calm because it is in control. It now holds the power.

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Stanza 11

• Lines 31-33: A catgrin on its face / and a live, ready to eat pilgrim / held between its teeth.

  • Summary: The poem ends with the bus imagined as a cat with a grin, holding the priest (the "pilgrim") in its teeth.

  • Analysis: A shocking final metaphor. The priest is now the "pilgrim," but his pilgrimage is reduced to a wait for transport. The bus, a symbol of mechanized modernity, is the predator. The priest is its prey, "ready to eat"—consumed by the very system he depends on for mobility and connection. The "catgrin" is one of sly, predatory satisfaction. The roles are completely reversed from the title: the sacred Priest is the consumable Prey.

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Teaching Points

• Subversion of Sacred Imagery: Track how every term associated with sanctity (priest, altar, offering, mantra, pilgrim) is systematically re-contextualized within a mundane, mechanical, and often bleak physical reality.

• Metaphor and Simile: Analyze the poem's startling comparisons (dead man's palm, village barber, wart, lizard, cat) and how they build a consistent worldview of absurdity, predation, and bodily existence.

• Modernity vs. Tradition: The bus versus the priest. Discuss the poem as a commentary on the displacement of traditional spiritual roles by the impersonal forces of modernity and infrastructure.

• Socio-Economic Critique: Explore the portrayal of the priest not as a spiritual guide but as a figure of economic marginalization, dependence, and stagnation within a specific Indian rural/semi-urban context.

• Kolarkar's Style: Discuss how this poem exemplifies Kolatkar's ability to blend the stark, imagistic clarity of modernism with a uniquely Indian sensibility and visceral detail.