Success Is Counted Sweetest

The speaker in “Success is counted sweetest” parallels “nectar” (Line 3) with the experience of success. The two definitions of “nectar” offer insight into the role of the symbol in the poem. One definition of nectar describes it as the juice of flowers and plants that bees collect and use to make honey. Nectar, in this case, necessary to life. Dickinson writes that to “comprehend” (Line 3), or to understand and appreciate, nectar “[r]equires sorest need” (Line 4). One must be without the nectar and wanting for it in order to truly and fully acknowledge its significance and importance. Just as nectar is necessary for life, the drive toward success is powerfully motivating for individuals.

The other definition of nectar traces back to Greek and Roman mythology, where nectar was considered to be the drink of the gods. Nectar “had the magical property to confer immortality on any mortal who had the luck to drink it…It was a grave offense to steal either nectar or ambrosia” (“Nectar.” Greek Mythology.com). Since the speaker in “Success is counted sweetest” parallels nectar with success, this reading of the symbol suggests that success is exclusive, rare, and unattainable by mere mortals. Success is only for the gods, not for everyone. This parallel builds tension through the symbolism. If nectar is necessary for life, yet simultaneously unattainable and exclusive, there exists a contradiction and paradox between the meanings that further complicates the speaker’s view of success.