Analysis of The Seventh (A hetedik)
Attila József 1905 (Ferencváros) – 1937 (Balatonszárszó)
If you set out in this world,
better be born seven times.
Once, in a house on fire,
once, in a freezing flood,
once, in a wild madhouse,
once, in a field of ripe wheat,
once, in an empty cloister,
and once among pigs in sty.
Six babes crying, not enough:
you yourself must be the seventh.
When you must fight to survive,
let your enemy see seven.
One, away from work on Sunday,
one, starting his work on Monday,
one, who teaches without payment,
one, who learned to swim by drowning,
one, who is the seed of a forest,
and one, whom wild forefathers protect,
but all their tricks are not enough:
you yourself must be the seventh.
If you want to find a woman,
let seven men go for her.
One, who gives heart for words,
one, who takes care of himself,
one, who claims to be a dreamer,
one, who through her skirt can feel her,
one, who knows the hooks and snaps,
one, who steps upon her scarf:
let them buzz like flies around her.
You yourself must be the seventh.
If you write and can afford it,
let seven men write your poem.
One, who builds a marble village,
one, who was born in his sleep,
one, who charts the sky and knows it,
one, whom words call by his name,
one, who perfected his soul,
one, who dissects living rats.
Two are brave and four are wise;
You yourself must be the seventh.
And if all went as was written,
you will die for seven men.
One, who is rocked and suckled,
one, who grabs a hard young breast,
one, who throws down empty dishes,
one, who helps the poor win;
one, who worked till he goes to pieces,
one, who just stares at the moon.
The world will be your tombstone:
you yourself must be the seventh.
Scheme | axbxxxbxcD xexxxxxxcD ebxxbbxxbD fxxxfxxxxD exaxgxgxxD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (24%) |
Metre | 1111011 1011101 1001110 100101 10011 1001111 1011010 0101101 1110101 10111010 1111101 11100110 1011111 11011110 11100110 11111110 111011010 01111001 11111101 10111010 11111010 1101110 111111 1111101 11111010 11101110 1110101 1110101 11111010 10111010 11101011 11011110 11101010 1111011 11101011 1111111 1101011 1101101 1110111 10111010 01111110 1111101 111101 1110111 11111010 111011 111111110 1111101 011111 10111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,572 |
Words | 314 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 50 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 246 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 63 |
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"The Seventh (A hetedik)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54187/the-seventh-%28a-hetedik%29>.
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