Question and answer

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 1832 (Kvikne) – 1910 (Paris)



THE CHILD

Father! Within the forest's bound
No bird I found,
No sound of song the woods around.

THE FATHER

The bird that glad his song us gave,
Flies o'er the wave;
Perhaps he there will find his grave.

THE CHILD

But why does he not wait till later?

THE FATHER

He goes where light and warmth are greater

THE CHILD

Father! It selfish seems to me,
Far off to flee,
When all we others here must be.

THE FATHER

With new-born spring comes new-born song;
By instinct strong
The better new he'll bring erelong.

THE CHILD

But if in death the cold waves swallow-?

THE FATHER

Others will come; his kin will follow.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 04, 2023

35 sec read
55

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAA BBB C C DDD EEE F F
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 589
Words 116
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1

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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    Quiz

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    The repetition of vowel sounds is an example of _______.
    A repetition
    B rhyme
    C rhythm
    D assonance