Analysis of Ich Hatt' Einen Kameraden (I Had A Comrade)
Ich hatt' einen Kameraden,
Einen bessern findst du nit.
Die Trommel schlug zum Streite,
Er ging an meiner Seite
In gleichem Schritt und Tritt.
Eine Kugel kam geflogen:
Gilt's mir oder gilt es dir?
Ihn hat es weggerissen,
Er liegt vor meinen Füßen
Als wär's ein Stück von mir
Will mir die Hand noch reichen,
Derweil ich eben lad'.
'Kann dir die Hand nicht geben,
Bleib du im ew'gen Leben
Mein guter Kamerad!
I Had a Comrade
In battle he was my comrade,
None better I have had.
The drum called us to fight,
He always on my right,
In step, through good and bad.
A bullet it flew towards us,
For him or meant for me?
His life from mine it tore,
At my feet a piece of gore,
As if a part of me.
His hand reached up to hold mine.
I must re-load my gun.
'My friend, I cannot ease your pain,
In life eternal we'll meet again,
And walk once more as one.'
Translated by Frank Petersohn
I Had a Comrade
I had one faithful comrade
'Ere we heard the trumpet's call,
And we pledged our hearts forever
In battle joined together
To beat the foe or fall.
A musket shot came screaming
To seal his fate or mine
Right at my feet he stumbled,
And friendship's shrine it crumbled
Around that friend of mine.
His hand is blindly seeking
The clasp I cannot give
For duty calls me onward
Farewell my dying comrade,
Our love shall ever live.
Translated by Arthur Kevess
Scheme | abbbb acaac adaab D ddeed fgccg aaaaa a D dhcch iajja ixxdx f |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111 11111 11111 011101 01111 11011 1110111 1111 0111011 1100111111 111111 11101 111111 111110 111 1101 0101111 110111 011111 11111 011101 01011011 111111 111111 1110111 110111 1111111 111111 11110111 010101101 011111 010111 1101 111101 111011 011101010 0101010 110111 0101110 111111 1111110 011110 011111 1111010 011101 1101110 11101 1011101 0101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,325 |
Words | 260 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 1, 5, 5, 5, 1, 1, 5, 5, 5, 1 |
Lines Amount | 49 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 80 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 106 Views
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"Ich Hatt' Einen Kameraden (I Had A Comrade)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21566/ich-hatt%27-einen-kameraden-%28i-had-a-comrade%29>.
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