15+ Commendable Poems about Giving Up

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

Poems exploring the theme of giving up offer a captivating subject for analysis. These verses delve into the intricacies of human emotions, revealing the delicate balance between hope and resignation.

By examining the nuances of surrender, these poems illuminate the fragility of the human spirit and its responses to adversity. They artfully encapsulate the depths of despair, the weight of unfulfilled dreams, and the complexities of accepting defeat.

Studying poems about giving up provides a valuable opportunity to analyze the rhetorical strategies, literary devices, and thematic elements employed by poets to convey the multifaceted human experience.

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Kamikaze

by Beatrice Garland

‘Kamikaze’ by Garland delves into a pilot’s conflict between duty and life, exploring the harsh societal aftermath of his choice.

To others, the pilot’s return was a failure as he gave up his mission and honour. But Garland suggests this 'giving up' was also an act of courage and defiance, reclaiming personal agency in a culture that demanded he die.

Her father embarked at sunrise

with a flask of water, a samurai sword

in the cockpit, a shaven head

full of powerful incantations

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Autumn Song (Chanson d’automne)

by Paul Verlaine

‘Autumn Song’ by Paul Verlaine is a poignant poem that impresses upon the reader a potent sense of seasonal depression.

Although the poem might not explicitly state it, the speaker is clearly consumed by a sense of hopelessness by the end of the poem. The only cure for this is the passing of the season, though it's unclear if winter will do much to cheer them up. As a result, the speaker succumbs to their depression and finds themselves at its mercy like the dead leaf is to the wind.

When a sighing begins

In the violins

Of the autumn-song,

My heart is drowned

In the slow sound

Languorous and long

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Dereliction

by Chinua Achebe

‘Dereliction’ by Chinua Achebe is an ambiguous poem in which three speakers elaborate on the action of, a probable consequence of, and probable pardon for, failing to fulfil one’s duties.

Giving up is the core of the poem, though not in the normal sense. The entire poem focuses on the act of, the possible consequence of, and possible pardon fo,r giving up on handling a task, especially one that was entrusted to the person in question.

I quit the carved stool

in my father’s hut to the swelling

chant of saber-tooth termites

raising in the pith of its wood

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Let It Be Forgotten

by Sara Teasdale

‘Let It Be Forgotten’ by Sara Teasdale echoes ephemeral love, comparing it to forgotten flowers, fires, and hushed footfalls in long-lost snow.

Sara Teasdale's poem delicately explores the theme of giving up through the speaker's plea for forgetfulness. The repetition of 'Let it be forgotten' signifies a deliberate choice, capturing the essence of relinquishing past emotions. The poem suggests that intentional forgetfulness becomes an act of emotional surrender, portraying the complexities and emotional weight of letting go.

Let it be forgotten as a flower is forgotten,

Forgotten as a fire that once was singing gold,

Let it be forgotten forever and ever,

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Mean Time

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘Mean Time’ delves into love’s loss, comparing it to the dark, extended nights after “Daylight Saving Time,” capturing deep sorrow.

Rather than searching for an optimistic future after a devastating breakup, the speaker of this poem resigns themselves to giving up and living in misery. This reflects the hopelessness many people feel in the wake of a tragic event, failing to see a brighter future laid before them. The speaker's only course of reconciliation is to rewind time itself. When they find this to be impossible, they give up and resign themselves to wait for death.

The clocks slid back an hour

and stole light from my life

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On A Journey

by Hermann Hesse

‘On A Journey’ by Hermann Hesse is a poem that seeks to provide both comfort and solace to those who find themselves demoralized by life’s journeys.

One of the topics in this poem by Hermann Hesse is the idea of giving up. This is exactly what the speaker appears to be cautioning their companion against throughout the poem, attempting to raise their spirits so they can complete their journey. As a result, the poem is deeply moving and uplifting, a rarity amongst the poet's work.

Don't be downcast, soon the night will come,

When we can see the cool moon laughing in secret

Over the faint countryside,

And we rest, hand in hand.

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Up in the Wind

by Edward Thomas

‘Up in the Wind’ captures a public house history with the nature surrounding it, and how it impacts others.

While the girl rants and complains about all the wrongs public house has done to nature and how she wishes it would disappear, she also mentions she will die there one day, not having a want to leave. She does give up in this way, as she makes no steps towards improving her mindset or situation.

I could wring the old thing's neck that put it there!

A public-house! it may be public for birds,

Squirrels and suchlike, ghosts of charcoal-burners

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Mr Bleaney

by Philip Larkin

‘Mr Bleaney’ by Philip Larkin, written in 1955, relays the journey of a speaker as they settle into their new home and new life.

The speaker in this poem resigns themselves to living a life they are dissatisfied with, appearing completely unwilling to change their circumstances. The speaker effectively gives up as they assume the life of a man they find to be mundane.

That how we live measures our own nature,

And at his age having no more to show

Than one hired box should make him pretty sure

He warranted no better, I don't know.

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A Party Of Lovers

by John Keats

‘A Party Of Lovers’ observes and critiques a group of people too self-absorbed to open themselves up to passion and human interaction.

The speaker’s resignation to leave this lifeless party marks a subtle theme of giving up. Unable to endure the atmosphere of indifference, the speaker ironically wishes for escape under a “winding-sheet,” as though even death might offer more stimulation than the apathetic party of “lovers” before him.

Pensive they sit, and roll their languid eyes,

Nibble their toast, and cool their tea with sighs,

Or else forget the purpose of the night,

Forget their tea -- forget their appetite.

#10

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Effacé

by Paul Maddern

‘Effacé’ by Paul Maddern is a unique poem in which the speaker uses references to ballet, specifically Swan Lake, to discuss a love he gave up on.

In many ways, readers can interpret the speaker as giving up on his pursuit of the woman he loved. Clearly, he feels this was the right decision, but it still pains him to think about some elements of their life as they could've been.

Yours was the face I almost lived a lie for,

that might have brought about the 2.4,

not this sterile A4 annual report

#11

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I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl

by Emily Dickinson

‘I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl’ by Emily Dickinson is a deeply melancholic poem that elucidates the ways in which people try to go on living when they’ve lost all love of life.

Although the speaker sees no hope in the future, they resolve not to give up on life altogether. However sad it may be, they withstand by focusing on their daily lives. They don't voice it, but there's also the possibility that the speaker is also thinking of their loved ones. If they're willing to suffer in silence for their benefit, then it would be understandable that it also contributes to their decision to go on living.

I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl—

Life's little duties do—precisely—

As the very least

Were infinite—to me—

#12

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Matins (Forgive Me If I Say I Love You)

by Louise Glück

‘Matins (Forgive Me If I Say I Love You)’ is a well thought out piece about someone who is eager to love but has not been given anything to work with.

Having nothing to work with, the speaker in ‘Matins (Forgive Me if I Say I Love You)’ feels so in the dark, she begins to give up on the whole thing. She feels very far from the one she is talking to. The only way to resolve this would be for the addressed to be more open. Nothing is forthcoming, and the speaker feels detached from it all.

Forgive me if I say I love you: the powerful

are always lied to since the weak are always

driven by panic. I cannot love

what I can’t conceive, and you disclose

#13

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The Queen of Hearts

by Christina Rossetti

‘The Queen of Hearts’ by Christina Rossetti is a unique poem that explores luck through a metaphorical card game in which one woman keeps getting the same card: the Queen of Hearts.

By the end of the poem, the speaker completely gives up on finding out what's going on with Flora. They gave understanding her knack for the Queen of Hearts a solid try but eventually realized they were never going to figure it out.

How comes it, Flora, that, whenever we

Play cards together, you invariably,

However the pack parts,

Still hold the Queen of Hearts?

#14

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Outward Bound

by Helen Hunt Jackson

‘Outward Bound’ by Helen Hunt Jackson is a rousing sonnet that dispels one’s fears of traveling into the unknown with a reminder that we make the same bold excursions every day of our lives without ever acknowledging it.

The speaker of Jackson's poem spends the first eight lines critiquing those possessed by fear who give up before even making a journey of their own. They relegate themselves to a life spent in a self-imposed purgatory of worry. An image perfectly depicted in the poem's opening lines.

The hour has come. Strong hands the anchor raise;

Friends stand and weep along the fading shore,

In sudden fear lest we return no more,

In sudden fancy thaThe safer stays

#15

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XVIII (Who live under the shadow…)

by Stephen Spender

Spender’s ‘XVIII’ is a lyric showing how worry stops one from cherishing the good parts of life.

The poet gives up on his passions at the beginning of the poem. He also gives up appreciating simpler things in life, like laughing and dancing. This is because he begins to ponder if there is any point to them when he is facing the reality of war.

Who live under the shadow of a war,

What can I do that matters?

My pen stops, and my laughter, dancing, stop

Or ride to a gap.

Home » Collection » Poems about Giving Up

15+ Commendable Poems about Giving Up

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

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15+ Commendable Poems about Giving Up

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

by Beatrice Garland

by Paul Verlaine

by Chinua Achebe

by Sara Teasdale

by Carol Ann Duffy

by Hermann Hesse

by Edward Thomas

by Philip Larkin

by John Keats

by Paul Maddern

by Emily Dickinson

by Louise Glück

by Christina Rossetti

by Helen Hunt Jackson

by Stephen Spender

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