Analysis of The Shepherd's Lament
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
ON yonder lofty mountain
A thousand times I stand,
And on my staff reclining,
Look down on the smiling land.
My grazing flocks then I follow,
My dog protecting them well;
I find myself in the valley,
But how, I scarcely can tell.
The whole of the meadow is cover'd
With flowers of beauty rare;
I pluck them, but pluck them unknowing
To whom the offering to bear.
In rain and storm and tempest,
I tarry beneath the tree,
But closed remaineth yon portal;
'Tis all but a vision to me.
High over yonder dwelling,
There rises a rainbow gay;
But she from home hath departed
And wander'd far, far away.
Yes, far away bath she wander'd,
Perchance e'en over the sea;
Move onward, ye sheep, then, move onward!
Full sad the shepherd must be.
Scheme | X AB A X CD C E FB F X DX D B GX G E DE D |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010 010111 0111010 1110101 11011110 1101011 1110010 1111011 01101110 1101101 111111010 11010011 0101010 1100101 111110 11101011 1101010 110011 11111010 0101101 11011110 01111001 110111110 1101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 715 |
Words | 137 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 18 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 31 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 8 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 14, 2023
- 42 sec read
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