Analysis of Over The Lofty Mountains
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 1832 (Kvikne) – 1910 (Paris)
Wonder I must, what I once may see
Over the lofty mountains!
Eyes shall meet only snow, may be;
Standing here, each evergreen tree
Over the heights is yearning;--
Will it be long in learning?
Pinions strong bear the eagle away
Over the lofty mountains
Forth to the young and vigorous day;
There he exults in the swift, wild play,
Rests where his spirit orders,--
Sees all the wide world's borders.
Full-leaved the apple-tree wishes naught
Over the lofty mountains!
Spreading, when summer hither is brought,
Waiting till next time in its thought;
Many a bird it is swinging,
Knowing not what they are singing.
He who has longed for twenty years
Over the lofty mountains,
He who knows that he never nears,
Smaller feels with the lapsing years,
Heeds what the bird is singing
Cheerily to its swinging.
Garrulous bird, what will you here
Over the lofty mountains?
Surely your nest was there less drear,
Taller the trees, the outlook clear;--
Will you then only bring me
Longings, but naught to wing me?
Shall I then never, never go
Over the lofty mountains?
Shall to my thoughts this wall say,--No!
Stand with terror of ice and snow,
Barring the way unwended,
Coffin me when life is ended?
Out will I! Out!--Oh, so far, far, far,
Over the lofty mountains!
Here is this cramping, confining bar,
Baffling my thoughts, that so buoyant are;--
Lord! Let me try the scaling,
Suffer no final failing!
Sometime I know I shall rise and soar
Over the lofty mountains.
Hast Thou already ajar Thy door?--
Good is Thy home! Yet, Lord, I implore,
Hold not the gates asunder,--
Leave me my longing wonder!
Scheme | aBaacc dBddee fBffcc gBggcc hBhxaa iBiifx jBjjcc kBkkll |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101111111 1001010 11110111 1011101 1001110 1111010 11101001 1001010 110101001 110100111 1111010 1101110 110101101 1001010 101101011 10111011 10011110 10111110 11111101 1001010 11111101 10110101 1101110 11110 10011111 1001010 10111111 1001011 1111011 1011111 11110101 1001010 11111111 11101101 10011 10111110 111111111 1001010 111100101 1001111101 1111010 1011010 11111101 1001010 110100111 111111101 1101010 1111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,571 |
Words | 289 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 154 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 50 Views
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