Analysis of From

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)



WHO never eat with tears his bread,

Who never through night's heavy hours
Sat weeping on his lonely bed,--

He knows you not, ye heavenly powers!

Through you the paths of life we gain,

Ye let poor mortals go astray,
And then abandon them to pain,--

E'en here the penalty we pay,
-----
WHO gives himself to solitude,

Soon lonely will remain;
Each lives, each loves in joyous mood,

And leaves him to his pain.

Yes! leave me to my grief!
Were solitude's relief

E'er granted me,

Alone I should not be.

A lover steals, on footstep light,

To learn if his love's alone;
Thus o'er me steals, by day and night,

Anguish before unknown,
Thus o'er me steals deep grief.
Ah, when I find relief

Within the tomb so lonely,

Will rest be met with only!


Scheme A BA B C DC D E CE C FF G G H IH IFF G G
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11011111 110111010 11011101 1111110010 11011111 11110101 01010111 111010011 1 1101110 110101 11110101 011111 111111 0101 10101 011111 0101111 1111101 110111101 100101 1101111 111101 0101110 1111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 718
Words 141
Sentences 8
Stanzas 16
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 35
Words per stanza (avg) 9
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
140

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and politician. more…

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