Analysis of Roman Elegies I
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
Tell me you stones, O speak, you towering palaces!
Streets, say a word! Spirit of this place, are you dumb?
All things are alive in your sacred walls
eternal Rome, only for me all’s still.
Who will whisper to me, at what window
will I see the sweet thing who will kindle me, and quicken?
Already I guess the ways, walking to her and from her,
ever and always I’ll go, while sweet time slips by.
I’m gazing at church and palace, ruin and column,
like a serious man making sensible use of a journey,
but soon it will happen, and all will be one vast temple,
Love’s temple, receiving its new initiate.
Though you are a whole world, Rome, still, without Love,
the world’s not the world, Rome cannot be Rome.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHBIJKLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111100100 110110111111 1110101101 0101101111 1110111110 11101111101010 01011011010010 10011111111 1101101010010 1010011010011010 11111001111110 11001011010 11101111011 0110111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 708 |
Words | 134 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 538 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 132 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 57 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Roman Elegies I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21765/roman-elegies-i>.
Discuss this Johann Wolfgang von Goethe poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In