About The Poet
William Edward Hickson (7 January 1803 – 22 March 1870), commonly known as Richman Hopson and W. E. Hickson, was a British educational writer. He was the author of “Time and Faith” and was the editor of The Westminster Review (1840–1852). He wrote part of the Official Peace Version of the British national anthem, approved by the Privy Council, found in the 1925 edition of Songs of Praise and, with one line changed, in the 1933 edition.
Life
William was the son of Edward Hickson, a boot and shoe manufacturer of Smithfield, London. Having studied schools in The Netherlands and Germany, he retired from the family business in 1840 to concentrate on philanthropic pursuits: particularly the cause of elementary education.[1] He became editor and proprietor of The Westminster Review which was notable for its commitment to legislative reform and popular education.
Hickson died at Fairseat, Stansted, Kent, where he was buried.
Legacy
Hickson is credited with popularizing the proverb:
- ‘Tis a lesson you should heed:
- Try, try, try again.
- If at first you don’t succeed,
- Try, try, try again.
The proverb can be traced back to the writings of Thomas H. Palmer in his Teacher’s Manual, and The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat.[3]
Works
- The singing master (1836)
- Dutch and German schools (1840)
- Part Singing (1842)
- Time and faith – 2 vols. (1857)
Try Again
By William Hickson
‘Tis a lesson you should heed–
Try again;
If at first, you don’t succeed,
Try again.
Then your courage should appear;
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear,
Try again.
Once or twice though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
Try again.
If we strive, ’tis no disgrace
Though we did not win the race–
What should you do in that case?
Try again.
If you find your task hard.
Try again;
Time will bring you your reward,
Try again;
All that other folk can do,
Why with patience should not you?
Only keep this rule in view,
Try again.
Try Again – Summary
“Try again: you have millions of alternatives. Fill yourself with the bullets of hope and you will kill failure with one shot.”
“Try Again” is written by W.E. Hickson. The poem teaches us a lesson of trying again and again. The poet says that we should not give up trying again and again. It is the only key to success. The message of the poem is universal. If we fail to get our goal, we should not lose heart. We shall succeed if we continue trying again and again. Remember, a person fails only when he admits that he has failed. It takes time to learn.
The poet is of the view that when the world says, “Give up”, hope whispers, “Try it one more time.” The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places. So, we should keep up trying again and again to cross this road. We should not be worried about failure. Failure is a good teacher. Failure is not a disgrace because we learn from our mistakes. In this way, we try again and succeed. That is why we should keep on trying until we succeed.
“To succeed, you must never stop trying.”
The language of the poem is simple but the message of the poem is unique and thought-provoking. In short, ‘try again’ is the golden rule to succeed.
Try, try, try, and keep on trying is the rule that must be followed to become an expert in anything.