Throughout this poem, the author addresses the importance of what life is and how it should be lived. The first two lines propose that life is more than our biological existence; it consists of having the will (“great spirit”) and the endurance (“busy heart”) to be or to do something that is greater than ourselves. The writer clearly states what he/she believes to be life and who is or isn’t living it properly, according to the writer. Those not living by the author’s words are deemed a “coward” and “small in soul” for they do not live life to its fullest extent. For the rest of the poem, the author draws a simple outline of actions that one should take in order to make life seem worthwhile: “one generous feeling, one great thought, one deed of good.”
The poem dismisses time as a factor in life and keeps its focus on our actions as being the ideal mode of maintaining a reputable lifestyle. The reader can infer the morality in the poem with the use of words such as great, generous, good, noblest, and best. The author continually expresses the need for us to act internally and externally in reference to our thoughts, feelings and deeds, so it’s not just how we portray ourselves on the outside, but the inside as well. The repetition of the words: deeds, thoughts, and feelings in the poem create emphasis for what “we” as humans should employ in our daily lives to reach the point of being “the noblest” and “the best.”
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