Analysis of Parabole

Emile Verhaeren 1855 (Sint-Amands) – 1916 (Rouen)



Parmi l'étang d'or sombre
Et les nénuphars blancs,
Un vol passant de hérons lents
Laisse tomber des ombres.

Elles s'ouvrent et se ferment sur l'eau
Toutes grandes, comme des mantes ;
Et le passage des oiseaux, là-haut,
S'indéfinise, ailes ramantes.

Un pêcheur grave et théorique
Tend vers elles son filet clair,
Ne voyant pas qu'elles battent dans l'air
Les larges ailes chimériques,

Ni que ce qu'il guette, le jour, la nuit,
Pour le serrer en des mailles d'ennui,
En bas, dans les vases, au fond d'un trou,
Passe dans la lumière, insaisissable et fou.


Scheme ABBB XBCB XAAB CXAX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (25%)
Metre 11111 11111 1111111 1111 111101111 11111 10101111 1111 11111111 1111011 11111111 11111 1111110111 1011111010 11111011111 11111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 566
Words 95
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 105
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
51

Emile Verhaeren

Emile Verhaeren was a Belgian poet who wrote in the French language, and one of the chief founders of the school of Symbolism. more…

All Emile Verhaeren poems | Emile Verhaeren Books

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