Analysis of The Old Lizard
Federico García Lorca 1898 (Fuente Vaqueros) – 1936 (Alfacar)
In the parched path
I have seen the good lizard
(one dropp of crocodile)
meditating.
With his green frock-coat
of an abbot of the devil,
his correct bearing
and his stiff collar,
he has the sad air
of an old professor.
Those faded eyes
of a broken artist,
how they watch the afternoon
in dismay!
Is this, my friend,
your twilight constitutional?
Please use your cane,
you are very old, Mr. Lizard,
and the children of the village
may startle you.
What are you seeking in the path,
my near-sighted philosopher,
if the wavering phantasm
of the parched afternoon
has broken the horizon?
Are you seeking the blue alms
of the moribund heaven?
A penny of a star?
Or perhaps
you've been reading a volume
of Lamartine, and you relish
the plateresque trills
of the birds?
(You watch the setting sun,
and your eyes shine,
oh, dragon of the frogs,
with a human radiance.
Ideas, gondolas without oars,
cross the shadowy
waters of your
burnt-out eyes.)
Have you come looking
for that lovely lady lizard,
green as the wheatfields
of May,
as the long locks
of sleeping pools,
who scorned you, and then
left you in your field?
Oh, sweet idyll, broken
among the sweet sedges!
But, live! What the devil!
I like you.
The motto 'I oppose
the serpent' triumphs
in that grand double chin
of a Christian archbishop.
Now the sun has dissolved
in the cup of the mountains,
and the flocks
cloud the roadway.
It is the hour to depart:
leave the dry path
and your meditations.
You will have time
to look at the stars
when the worms are eating you
at their leisure.
Go home to your house
by the village, of the crickets!
Good night, my friend
Mr. Lizard!
Now the field is empty,
the mountains dim,
the roadway deserted.
Only, now and again,
a cuckoo sings in the darkness
of the poplar trees.
Scheme | ABXCXDCEXEFXGH IDXBXJAEXGK XKXXXXFX KXXXXLXF CBFHMXNXKFDJXXXX XOMHXAOXXJE XXIB LXXNXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0011 1110110 11110 100 11111 11101010 10110 01110 11011 111010 1101 101010 111001 001 1111 110100 1111 111011010 00101010 1101 11110001 11100100 1010010 10101 1100010 1110011 1010010 010101 101 1110010 110110 011 101 110101 0111 110101 1010100 010100011 10100 1011 111 11110 11101010 1101 11 1011 1101 11101 11011 111010 01011 111010 111 010101 01010 011101 1010110 101101 0011010 001 101 11010101 1011 01010 1111 11101 1011101 1110 11111 10101010 1111 1010 101110 0101 01010 101001 0110010 10101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,767 |
Words | 323 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 11, 8, 8, 16, 11, 4, 6 |
Lines Amount | 78 |
Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 172 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 09, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 225 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Old Lizard" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13467/the-old-lizard>.
Discuss this Federico García Lorca poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In