Analysis of During A Journey In Sweden

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 1832 (Kvikne) – 1910 (Paris)



My boyish heart in thee confided,
For to the great by thee 't was guided.
As man, my waiting is for thee,-

The Northern cause with thee, with thee!

Rich lands and talents are thy dower,
But fallow lie thy wealth and power.

Thou must the North in concord bind,
Or never shalt thy true self find.

There's longing in thy folk arisen,
Poetic hope-but yet in prison.
Though forces great within thee dwell,
Thou art not wholly sound and well.

Too many things are undertaken,
Too oft the task is soon forsaken.
Though rich in promptings of the heart,
In faith and duty faint thou art.

In danger only hast thou thriven,
When something great to guard was given.
When every breast with warmth shall glow
At Sweden's name, thy strength thou'lt know.

What's thine alone lifts not thy feeling,
Till honor's cause the skies are pealing,
Thou hast no joy but daring deed
In fortune's favor or in need.

For thy fair memories inspiring
Are far too great, much more requiring:

The Northern cause! Lead thou the way!
'T will double glory thee repay!

Of all thou canst, this is the greatest,
Thy duty earliest and latest.
Thy future rests in its embrace
With cure for ills that now abase.

Thou land of heart-born fancies thronging,
Thou land of poetry and longing,
Fill now thy heart, thy spirit free!

The Northern banner waits for thee!


Scheme AAB B XX CC DDEE DDFF DDGG HHII HH JJ KKLL HHB B
Poetic Form
Metre 110101010 1101111110 11110111 01011111 11010111 11111010 1101011 11011111 110011010 010111010 11010111 11110101 11011100 110111010 1101101 01010111 01010111 110111110 110011111 11011111 110111110 11010111 11111101 01010101 111100010 1111110100 01011101 111010101 111111010 110100010 11010101 1111111 11111101 111100010 11111101 01010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,290
Words 240
Sentences 19
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 3, 1, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 4, 3, 1
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 79
Words per stanza (avg) 18
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:13 min read
118

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit", becoming the first Norwegian Nobel laureate. Bjørnson is considered to be one of The Four Greats (De Fire Store) among Norwegian writers, the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland. Bjørnson is also celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet". more…

All Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson poems | Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Books

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