"The Truly Great" by Stephen Spender is sometimes known by its incipit, or first line, "I think continually of those who were truly great." What is left behind by the "truly great" of the poem is determined by Spender's attempt to redefine "true" greatness and separate it from what is conventionally called "great."
Many history books tend to associate greatness with wealth or power, describing political or military leaders, technological innovators, and the wealthy and powerful as great. For Spender, greatness is something internal, determined by people's inner spirit or nature rather than by their external accomplishments.
What the truly great leave behind is "the flowering of the spirit," which inspires even nature itself with its overflowing lightness, brilliance, and intensity. It is not something concrete but something spiritual, and this legacy of spirit, Spender suggests, transforms our world even if we have never directly met or encountered the (perhaps humble) people who have great spirits.
The question on what legacies great people leave behind them is quite wide because different people view the concept of legacy differently. Most people believe that leaving a legacy behind means leaving something tangible like cars, houses and businesses or any other things with monetary value. others believe leaving a legacy behind means impacting the lives of people that they have mentored and so on. The concept of leaving a legacy behind differs from one person to another. Traditionally, everyone would easily relate to the idea of leaving something physical behind like a company or wealth acquired so that children can inherit and still still remains one of the most common ways that great people can leave a legacy behind. Even though the concept differs from one person to another, everyone wants to leave a legacy that people will remember them for whether physical, and tangible or not.
Traditionally, those who are considered great in a standard sense leave tangible, physical legacies behind them. They win awards, people name things after them, people build monuments to them, and so on.
In this poem, though, the great leave a different legacy behind them. Instead of being celebrated by crowds of people, their names are celebrated by "waving grass." The clouds celebrate them, as does the wind. In other words, the great leave no coarse or crude legacy. Instead, nature celebrates them, invisibly.
These natural forces celebrate the great because of the superior quality of their spirits and their passions. Rather than focusing on money or winning battles, the great spent their lives fighting for life. That's a subtle thing, but a lovely one, yes?
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