Analysis of L'amoureuse

Paul Eluard 1895 (Saint-Denis) – 1952 (Charenton-le-Pont)



Elle est debour sur mes paupières
Et ses cheveux sont dans les miens,
Elle a la forme de mes mains,
Elle a la couleur de mes yeux,
Elle s'engloutit dan mon ombre
Comme une pierre sur le ciel.

Elle a toujours les yeux ouverts
Et ne me laisse pas dormir.
Ses rêves en pleine lumière
Font s'évaporer les soleils,
Me font rire, pleurer et rire,
Parler sans avoir rien à dire

(Samuel Beckett's translation)
She is standing on my lids
And her hair is in my hair
She has the colour of my eye
She has the body of my hand
In my shade she is engulfed
As a stone against the sky

She will never close her eyes
And she does not let me sleep
And her dreams in the bright day
Make the suns evaporate
And me laugh cry and laugh
Speak when I have nothing to say


Scheme AAXABX ABBABB XXBCXXC XXDXXD
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 10111111 1111111 1011111 1011111 11111 1101101 101111 111111 1111111 11111 111111 101111 101010 1110111 0011011 1101111 11010111 0111101 1010101 1110101 0111111 0010011 101010 011101 11111011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 746
Words 153
Sentences 3
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 7, 6
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 144
Words per stanza (avg) 38
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

46 sec read
637

Paul Eluard

Paul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel, was a French poet who was one of the founders of the surrealist movement. more…

All Paul Eluard poems | Paul Eluard Books

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