Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner12]

Hello, teachers!!

a failed poet
----->
(1) He was not able to become a poet.
(2) He is a poet, but because his books didn't sell well, he was not able to live as a poet.
(3) You can interpret both (1) and (2) depending on the contexts.

Thank you in advance.

[asterix]

#2 is a good description of a failed poet.

If you write poetry I suppose you are a poet of a sort, but you are not a failed poet until you have tried to make a living at it.

[learner12]

Dear asterix:

Thank you for your perfect explanations. You wrote what I wanted to know!!

Take care and have a nice day!!