Analysis of The Sonnets To Orpheus: Book 2: VI
Rainer Maria Rilke 1875 (Prague) – 1926 (Montreux)
Rose, you majesty-once, to the ancients, you were
just a calyx with the simplest of rims.
But for us, you are the full, the numberless flower,
the inexhaustible countenance.
In your wealth you seem to be wearing gown upon gown
upon a body of nothing but light;
yet each seperate petal is at the same time the negation
of all clothing and the refusal of it.
Your fragrance has been calling its sweetest names
in our direction, for hundreds of years;
suddenly it hangs in the air like fame.
Even so, we have never known what to call it; we guess...
And memory is filled with it unawares
which we prayed for from hours that belong to us.
Translated by Stephen Mitchell
Scheme | AXAX XXXX XXX XXX X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111001101010 1010101011 11111010110 000100100 0111111101011 0101011011 11110110110010 11100001011 11011101101 01001011011 1001100111 10111101111111 0100111101 111111010111 01011010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 659 |
Words | 124 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 3, 3, 1 |
Lines Amount | 15 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 105 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 64 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Sonnets To Orpheus: Book 2: VI" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29731/the-sonnets-to-orpheus%3A-book-2%3A-vi>.
Discuss this Rainer Maria Rilke poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In