Analysis of The Fight With The Dragon
Friedrich Schiller 1759 (Marbach am Neckar) – 1805 (Weimar)
Why run the crowd? What means the throng
That rushes fast the streets along?
Can Rhodes a prey to flames, then, be?
In crowds they gather hastily,
And, on his steed, a noble knight
Amid the rabble, meets my sight;
Behind him--prodigy unknown!--
A monster fierce they're drawing on;
A dragon stems it by its shape,
With wide and crocodile-like jaw,
And on the knight and dragon gape,
In turns, the people, filled with awe.
And thousand voices shout with glee
"The fiery dragon come and see,
Who hind and flock tore limb from limb!--
The hero see, who vanquished him!
Full many a one before him went,
To dare the fearful combat bent,
But none returned home from the fight;
Honor ye, then, the noble knight!"
And toward the convent move they all,
While met in hasty council there
The brave knights of the Hospital,
St. John the Baptist's Order, were.
Up to the noble master sped
The youth, with firm but modest tread;
The people followed with wild shout,
And stood the landing-place about,
While thus outspoke that daring one:
"My knightly duty I have done.
The dragon that laid waste the land
Has fallen beneath my conquering hand.
The way is to the wanderer free,
The shepherd o'er the plains may rove;
Across the mountains joyfully
The pilgrim to the shrine may move."
But sternly looked the prince, and said:
"The hero's part thou well hast played
By courage is the true knight known,--
A dauntless spirit thou hast shown.
Yet speak! What duty first should he
Regard, who would Christ's champion be,
Who wears the emblem of the Cross?"--
And all turned pale at his discourse.
Yet he replied, with noble grace,
While blushingly he bent him low:
"That he deserves so proud a place
Obedience best of all can show."
"My son," the master answering spoke,
"Thy daring act this duty broke.
The conflict that the law forbade
Thou hast with impious mind essayed."--
"Lord, judge when all to thee is known,"
The other spake, in steadfast tone,--
"For I the law's commands and will
Purposed with honor to fulfil.
I went not out with heedless thought.
Hoping the monster dread to find;
To conquer in the fight I sought
By cunning, and a prudent mind."
"Five of our noble Order, then
(Our faith could boast no better men),
Had by their daring lost their life,
When thou forbadest us the strife.
And yet my heart I felt a prey
To gloom, and panted for the fray;
Ay, even in the stilly night,
In vision gasped I in the fight;
And when the glimmering morning came,
And of fresh troubles knowledge gave,
A raging grief consumed my frame,
And I resolved the thing to brave."
"And to myself I thus began:
'What is't adorns the youth, the man?
What actions of the heroes bold,
Of whom in ancient song we're told,
Blind heathendom raised up on high
To godlike fame and dignity?
The world, by deeds known far and wide,
From monsters fierce they purified;
The lion in the fight they met,
And wrestled with the minotaur,
Unhappy victims free to set,
And were not sparing of their gore.'"
"'Are none but Saracens to feel
The prowess of the Christian steel?
False idols only shall be brave?
His mission is the world to save;
To free it, by his sturdy arm,
From every hurt, from every harm;
Yet wisdom must his courage bend,
And cunning must with strength contend.'
Thus spake I oft, and went alone
The monster's traces to espy;
When on my mind a bright light shone,--
'I have it!' was my joyful cry."
"To thee I went, and thus I spake:
'My homeward journey I would take.'
Thou, lord, didst grant my prayer to me,--
Then safely traversed I the sea;
And, when I reached my native strand,
I caused a skilful artist's hand
To make a dragon's image, true
To his that now so well I knew.
On feet of measure short was placed
Its lengthy body's heavy load;
A scaly coat of mail embraced
The back, on which it fiercely showed."
"Its stretching neck appeared to swell,
And, ghastly as a gate of hell,
Its fearful jaws were open wide,
As if to seize the prey it tried;
And in its black mouth, ranged about,
Its teeth in prickly rows stood out;
Its tongue was like a sharp-edged sword,
And lightning from its small eyes poured;
A serpent's tail of many a fold
Ended its body's monstrous span,
And round itself with fierceness rolled,
So as t
Scheme | Text too long |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101 11010101 11011111 01110100 01110101 01010111 01110001 01011101 01011111 1101011 01010101 01010111 01010111 010010101 11011111 01011101 110010111 11010101 11011101 10110101 001010111 11010101 0111010 1101100 11010101 01111101 01010111 01010101 1111101 11010111 01011101 1100111001 011101001 010100111 01010100 01010111 11010101 01011111 11010111 0110111 11110111 011111001 11010101 01111110 11011101 111111 11011101 010011111 110101001 11011101 01010101 11101011 11111111 0101011 11010101 111011 1111111 10010111 11000111 11000101 111010101 101111101 11110111 111101 01111101 11010101 1100011 01011001 010100101 01110101 01010111 01010111 0111101 111010101 11010101 11010111 111111 1110100 01111101 1101110 01000111 010101 01010111 00110111 11110011 01010101 11010111 11010111 11111101 1100111001 11011101 01011101 11110101 0110110 11110111 11111101 11110111 11010111 11111111 11010101 01111101 1101101 11010101 11111111 11110111 11010101 0111101 01111101 11010111 01010111 11010101 11110111 00111101 11010111 11110111 01011111 010111001 10110101 0101111 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 4,107 |
Words | 788 |
Sentences | 37 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 120 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 323 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 77 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 3:56 min read
- 99 Views
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"The Fight With The Dragon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14383/the-fight-with-the-dragon>.
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