Analysis Of Edgar Guest's Poem 'Myself'

In Edgar Guest’s poem “Myself” he is directly discussing how he accepts himself for who he is while forgiving himself for his past decisions in his life. Guest reminisces on the decisions throughout his life, and becomes mentally free when he decides to forgive and remind himself that he cannot put on a show to be something he is not. In “Myself” Edgar Guest develops the theme to illustrate him emerging to respect himself and to forgive himself so that he is free and can finally live a happy life. In stanza one of “Myself” Guest recalls all the things in his life that he is undertaking that have been right and wrong. He is trying to forgive himself; he does not want to have regrets when he is old. In line one through three he says, “I have to live with myself, and so, I want to be fit for myself to know; I …show more content…
In line eighteen through twenty he says, “I never can hide myself from me, I see what others may never see, I know what others may never know.” He recognizes and accepts what is happening in his life by focusing on bringing himself up with praise rather than bringing him down with sorrow. He desires to be mentally free: no secrets kept from himself or others, accepting his mistakes, and trying to be who he is and not something he is not. In “Myself” by Edgar Guest, he reinstates himself by accepting his past life, and the struggles his decisions have cast on him. He forgives himself for his past, accepts himself for who he is, wants to be truthful and respected, and mentally free from himself so that he can be happy. Guest is successful in connecting to the reader on a personal level. He uses first person to communicate how he feels about emerging into a new, forgiving person. Guest hooks the reader by constructing a theme for the poem to relate values to the average person may