Analysis of The Maiden Speaks
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
How grave thou lookest, loved one! wherefore so?
Thy marble image seems a type of thee;
Like it, no sign of life thou giv'st to me;
Compared with thee, the stone appears to glow.
Behind his shield in ambush lurks the foe,
The friend's brow all-unruffled we should see.
I seek thee, but thou seek'st away to flee;
Fix'd as this sculptured figure, learn to grow!
Tell me, to which should I the preference pay?
Must I from both with coldness meet alone?
The one is lifeless, thou with life art blest.
In short, no longer to throw words away,
I'll fondy kiss and kiss and kiss this stone,
Till thou dost tear me hence with envious breast.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDECDE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 1101010111 1111111111 0111010111 011101101 0111010111 11111110111 1111010111 11111101001 1111110101 0111011111 0111011101 111010111 11111111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 629 |
Words | 120 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 488 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 118 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 141 Views
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"The Maiden Speaks" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21844/the-maiden-speaks>.
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