Emily Dickinson’s poem entitled “Success is Counted Sweetest” insinuates the work to be about success and its meaning. The poem’s title is also the first line of the poem which only emphasizes the theme of success being appreciated most by those who have failed. In a literal sense, the poem morosely depicts success as something that is more appreciated by people who fail and desperately want to succeed. Dickinson then introduces the concept that a defeated dying soldier can define victory and comprehend success better than a victorious army. In the last stanza, Dickinson shows how the defeated soldier hears “The distant strains of triumph,” (line 11) which can be interpreted literally to mean that the victorious army is far away or metaphorically