Analysis of May

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)



LIGHT and silv'ry cloudlets hover

In the air, as yet scarce warm;
Mild, with glimmer soft tinged over,

Peeps the sun through fragrant balm.
Gently rolls and heaves the ocean

As its waves the bank o'erflow.
And with ever restless motion

Moves the verdure to and fro,

Mirror'd brightly far below.

What is now the foliage moving?

Air is still, and hush'd the breeze,
Sultriness, this fullness loving,

Through the thicket, from the trees.
Now the eye at once gleams brightly,

See! the infant band with mirth
Moves and dances nimbly, lightly,

As the morning gave it birth,

Flutt'ring two and two o'er earth.


Scheme A XA XB CB X C D ED EC FC F F
Poetic Form
Metre 101110 0011111 11101110 1011101 10101010 111011 01101010 101101 1010101 11101010 1110101 111010 1010101 10111110 1010111 10101010 1010111 1101101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 593
Words 106
Sentences 8
Stanzas 12
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 39
Words per stanza (avg) 9
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
154

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and politician. more…

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