Analysis of May seventeenth
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 1832 (Kvikne) – 1910 (Paris)
Wergeland's statue on May seventeenth
Saw the procession. And as its rear-guard,
Slow marching masses,
Strong men, and women with flower-decked presence;
Come now the peasants, come now the peasants.
Österdal's forest's magnificent chieftain
Bore the old banner. Soon as we see it
Blood-red uplifted,
Greet it the thousands in thought of its story:
That is our glory, that is our glory!
Never that lion bore crown that was foreign,
Never that cloth was by Dannebrog cloven.
I saw the
future
,
When with that banner by Wergeland's column
Peasants stood solemn, peasants stood solemn.
Most of our loss in the times that have vanished,
Most of our victories, most of our longing,
Most that is vital:
Deeds of the past and the future's bold daring
Peasants are bearing, peasants are bearing.
Sorely they suffered for sins once committed,
But they arise now. Here in the Storting
Stalwart they prove it,
All, as they come from our land's every region,
Peasants Norwegian, peasants Norwegian.
Hold what they won, with a will to go farther;
Whole we must have independence and honor!
All of us know it:
Wergeland's summer bears soon its best flower,-
Power in peasants, peasants in power.
Scheme | XXXXX ABXCC AAXD EE XFXFF XFBAA DDBDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111101 1001001111 11010 11010110110 1101011010 110010010 1011011111 11100 11010011110 111010111010 10110111110 10111111 110 10 1 111101110 1011010110 111010011110 1110100111010 11110 11010010110 1011010110 10110111010 1101110010 10111 1111110110010 10101010 11111011110 1111010010 11111 110111110 1001010010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,160 |
Words | 201 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 7, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 83 Views
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"May seventeenth" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4369/may-seventeenth>.
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