Students read "Success is counted sweetest," "The first Day's Night had come--," "I'm Nobody! Who are you?," and "My Life had stood-- a Loaded Gun--."
Content Summary for Teachers
"Success is counted sweetest"
In this poem, Dickinson uses a few different metaphors to convey the message that those who have something (e.g. success, love, family) can never truly appreciate its worth. Rather, it is only those who fail, or who have need of something that they cannot attain, who can truly appreciate the value of having whatever it is they seek.
Initially, the speaker seems to simply be talking about success, explaining that only those...
