Analysis of Coptic Song
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
LEAVE we the pedants to quarrel and strive,
Rigid and cautious the teachers to be!
All of the wisest men e'er seen alive
Smile, nod, and join in the chorus with me:
"Vain 'tis to wait till the dolt grows less silly!
Play then the fool with the fool, willy-nilly,--
Children of wisdom,--remember the word!"
Merlin the old, from his glittering grave,
When I, a stripling, once spoke to him,--gave
Just the same answer as that I've preferr'd;
"Vain 'tis to wait till the dolt grows less silly!
Play then the fool with the fool, willy-nilly,--
Children of wisdom,--remember the word!"
And on the Indian breeze as it booms,
And in the depths of Egyptian tombs,
Only the same holy saying I've heard:
"Vain 'tis to wait till the dolt grows less silly!
Play then the fool with the fool, willy-nilly,--
Children of wisdom,--remember the word!"
Scheme | a ba bBB C dd cBB C ee cBB C |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111001 1001001011 11010110101 1101001011 11111011110 11011011010 1011001001 1001111001 1101011111 1011011101 11111011110 11011011010 1011001001 0101001111 000110101 1001101011 11111011110 11011011010 1011001001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 824 |
Words | 158 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 63 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 15 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 66 Views
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"Coptic Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21637/coptic-song>.
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