Analysis of The Count Of Hapsburg
Friedrich Schiller 1759 (Marbach am Neckar) – 1805 (Weimar)
At Aix-la-Chapelle, in imperial array,
In its halls renowned in old story,
At the coronation banquet so gay
King Rudolf was sitting in glory.
The meats were served up by the Palsgrave of Rhine,
The Bohemian poured out the bright sparkling wine,
And all the Electors, the seven,
Stood waiting around the world-governing one,
As the chorus of stars encircle the sun,
That honor might duly be given.
And the people the lofty balcony round
In a throng exulting were filling;
While loudly were blending the trumpets' glad sound,
The multitude's voices so thrilling;
For the monarchless period, with horror rife,
Has ended now, after long baneful strife,
And the earth had a lord to possess her.
No longer ruled blindly the iron-bound spear,
And the weak and the peaceful no longer need fear
Being crushed by the cruel oppressor.
And the emperor speaks with a smile in his eye,
While the golden goblet he seizes:
"With this banquet in glory none other can vie,
And my regal heart well it pleases;
Yet the minstrel, the bringer of joy, is not here,
Whose melodious strains to my heart are so dear,
And whose words heavenly wisdom inspire;
Since the days of my youth it hath been my delight,
And that which I ever have loved as a knight,
As a monarch I also require."
And behold! 'mongst the princes who stand round the throne
Steps the bard, in his robe long and streaming,
While, bleached by the years that have over him flown,
His silver locks brightly are gleaming;
"Sweet harmony sleeps in the golden strings,
The minstrel of true love reward ever sings,
And adores what to virtue has tended--
What the bosom may wish, what the senses hold dear;
But say, what is worthy the emperor's ear
At this, of all feasts the most splendid?"
"No restraint would I place on the minstrel's own choice,"
Speaks the monarch, a smile on each feature;
"He obeys the swift hour's imperious voice,
Of a far greater lord is the creature.
For, as through the air the storm-wind on-speeds,--
One knows not from whence its wild roaring proceeds--
As the spring from hid sources up-leaping,
So the lay of the bard from the inner heart breaks
While the might of sensations unknown it awakes,
That within us were wondrously sleeping."
Then the bard swept the cords with a finger of might,
Evoking their magical sighing:
"To the chase once rode forth a valorous knight,
In pursuit of the antelope flying.
His hunting-spear bearing, there came in his train
His squire; and when o'er a wide-spreading plain
On his stately steed he was riding,
He heard in the distance a bell tinkling clear,
And a priest, with the Host, he saw soon drawing near,
While before him the sexton was striding."
"And low to the earth the Count then inclined,
Bared his head in humble submission,
To honor, with trusting and Christian-like mind,
What had saved the whole world from perdition.
But a brook o'er the plain was pursuing its course,
That swelled by the mountain stream's headlong force,
Barred the wanderer's steps with its current;
So the priest on one side the blest sacrament put,
And his sandal with nimbleness drew from his foot,
That he safely might pass through the torrent."
"'What wouldst thou?' the Count to him thus began,
His wondering look toward him turning:
'My journey is, lord, to a dying man,
Who for heavenly diet is yearning;
But when to the bridge o'er the brook I came nigh,
In the whirl of the stream, as it madly rushed by
With furious might 'twas uprooted.
And so, that the sick the salvation may find
That he pants for, I hasten with resolute mind
To wade through the waters barefooted.'"
"Then the Count made him mount on his stately steed,
And the reins to his hands he confided,
That he duly might comfort the sick in his need,
And that each holy rite be provided.
And himself, on the back of the steed of his squire,
Went after the chase to his heart's full desire,
While the priest on his journey was speeding
And the following morning, with thankful look,
To the Count once again his charger he took,
Its bridle with
Scheme | ABABCCDDDD EFEFGGHIIH JKJKLIMNNH OFOFPPQILQ RHRHSSFXKF NFNFTTFIIF UDUCVVWXXW YFYFJJXUUE ZQZQMHF1 1 X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111010010001 011010110 100101011 11110010 0101110111 001001101101 010010010 11001011001 10101101001 110110110 00100101001 001010010 11001001011 0110110 1011001101 110110111 0011011010 11011001011 001001011011 1011010010 001001101011 101010110 111001011011 011011110 10100111111 101001111111 0111001001 101111111101 01111011101 10111010 001101011101 1010111010 11101111011 110110110 1100100101 01011101101 0011110110 101011101011 11111001001 111110110 10111110111 101011110 101011001001 1011011010 1110101111 11111111001 1011110110 101101101011 10110100111 10110110 101101101011 010110010 101111011 001101010 11011011011 11011001101 111011110 110010011001 001101111101 1011010110 0110101101 111010010 11011001011 11101111 1011001101011 111010111 10111110 101111011001 0110111111 1110111010 1110111101 1100101110 1101110101 1110010110 111011001111 001101111011 110011010 01101001011 11111101101 1110101 10111111101 0011111010 111011001011 0111011010 001101101111 110011111010 1011110110 00100101101 10110111011 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 4,343 |
Words | 722 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 90 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 349 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 79 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 3:37 min read
- 92 Views
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"The Count Of Hapsburg" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14373/the-count-of-hapsburg>.
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