Analysis of Count Eberhard, The Groaner Of Wurtembert. A War Song
Friedrich Schiller 1759 (Marbach am Neckar) – 1805 (Weimar)
Now hearken, ye who take delight
In boasting of your worth!
To many a man, to many a knight,
Beloved in peace and brave in fight,
The Swabian land gives birth.
Of Charles and Edward, Louis, Guy,
And Frederick, ye may boast;
Charles, Edward, Louis, Frederick, Guy--
None with Sir Eberhard can vie--
Himself a mighty host!
And then young Ulerick, his son,
Ha! how he loved the fray!
Young Ulerick, the Count's bold son,
When once the battle had begun,
No foot's-breadth e'er gave way.
The Reutlingers, with gnashing teeth,
Saw our bright ranks revealed
And, panting for the victor's wreath,
They drew the sword from out the sheath,
And sought the battle-field.
He charged the foe,--but fruitlessly,--
Then, mail-clad, homeward sped;
Stern anger filled his father's eye,
And made the youthful warrior fly,
And tears of anguish shed.
Now, rascals, quake!--This grieved him sore,
And rankled in his brain;
And by his father's beard he swore,
With many a craven townsman's gore
To wash out this foul stain.
Ere long the feud raged fierce and loud,--
Then hastened steed and man
To Doeffingen in thronging crowd,
While joy inspired the youngster proud,--
And soon the strife began.
Our army's signal-word that day
Was the disastrous fight;
It spurred us on like lightning's ray,
And plunged us deep in bloody fray,
And in the spears' black night.
The youthful Count his ponderous mace
With lion's rage swung round;
Destruction stalked before his face,
While groans and howlings filled the place
And hundreds bit the ground.
Woe! Woe! A heavy sabre-stroke
Upon his neck descended;
The sight each warrior's pity woke--
In vain! In vain! No word he spoke--
His course on earth was ended.
Loud wept both friend and foeman then,
Checked was the victor's glow;
The count cheered thus his knights again--
"My son is like all other men,--
March, children, 'gainst the foe!"
With greater fury whizzed each lance,
Revenge inflamed the blood;
O'er corpses moved the fearful dance
The townsmen fled in random chance
O'er mountain, vale, and flood.
Then back to camp, with trumpet's bray,
We hied in joyful haste;
And wife and child, with roundelay,
With clanging cup and waltzes gay,
Our glorious triumph graced.
And our old Count,--what now does he?
His son lies dead before him;
Within his tent all woefully
He sits alone in agony,
And drops one hot tear o'er him.
And so, with true affection warm,
The Count our lord we love;
Himself a mighty hero-swarm--
The thunders rest within his arm--
He shines like star above!
Farewell, then, ye who take delight
In boasting of your worth!
To many a man, to many a knight,
Beloved in peace, and brave in fight,
The Swabian land gives birth!
Scheme | aBAAB cdccd efeef ghggh ijccj klkkl mnmmn faffa opoop qrqqr stsst uruur fvifv iwiiw xyxxy aBAAB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 1111101 010111 1100111001 01010101 01111 11010101 010111 11010101 11110011 010101 011111 111101 110111 11010101 1111011 011101 1101101 01010101 11011101 010101 11011100 111101 11011101 010101001 011101 11011111 010011 01110111 11001011 111111 11011101 110101 11011 110100101 010101 101010111 100101 1111111 01110101 000111 010111001 110111 01010111 1101101 010101 11010101 0111010 0111101 01011111 1111110 1111011 110101 01111101 11111101 110101 11010111 010101 101010101 0110101 1010101 1111111 110101 010111 11010101 10100101 010111111 1111011 01111100 11010100 01111101 01110101 0110111 01010101 01010111 111101 1111101 010111 1100111001 01010101 01111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,976 |
Words | 469 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 129 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:25 min read
- 105 Views
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"Count Eberhard, The Groaner Of Wurtembert. A War Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14307/count-eberhard%2C-the-groaner-of-wurtembert.-a-war-song>.
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