Analysis of Puisque j'ai mis ma lèvre (Since I Have Placed My Lip)
Victor Marie Hugo 1802 (Besançon) – 1885 (Paris)
Puisque j'ai mis ma lèvre à ta coupe encor pleine;
Puisque j'ai dans tes mains posé mon front pâli;
Puisque j'ai respiré parfois la douce haleine
De ton âme, parfum dans l'ombre enseveli;
Puisqu'il me fut donné de t'entendre me dire
Les mots où se répand le coeur mystérieux;
Puisque j'ai vu pleurer, puisque j' ai vu sourire
Ta bouche sur ma bouche et tes yeux sur mes yeux;
Puisque j'ai vu briller sur ma tête ravie
Un rayon de ton astre, hélas! voilé toujours;
Puisque j'ai vu tomber dans l'onde de ma vie
Une feuille de rose arrachée à tes jours;
Je puis maintenant dire aux rapides années:
- Passez! passez toujours! je n'ai plus à vieillir!
Allez-vous-en avec vos fleurs toutes fanées;
J'ai dans l'âme une fleur que nul ne peut cueillir!
Votre aile en le heurtant ne fera rien répandre
Du vase où je m'abreuve et que j'ai bien rempli.
Mon âme a plus de feu que vous n'avez de cendre!
Mon coeur a plus d'amour que vous n'avez d'oubli!
From Thy Sweet Lips
Since from thy star one cheering ray
My heaven hath lighted with its beam—
Since one bright rose leaf from thy day
Hath fallen on my life's dark steam—
And o'er my spirit, like a spell,
Thy voice hath poured its gentle ruth;
And I have drank of love's charmed well,
From thy sweet lips, perpetual youth—
I say, as these swift years depart,
Haste, with your faded garlands by—
There blooms a flower within my heart
That none may gather—ne'er may die!
Ye may not dash the cup of soul
That I now quaff to sweet excess—
There lies more memory in the bowl,
Than time hath of forgetfulness!
Translated by Mary E. Hewitt
Since I Have Placed My Lip
Since I have placed my lip
To your still brimming cup,
Since my pale brow has leaned
Into your sheltering hand,
Since I at times have caught
The hidden fragrance of your heart—
Since I have heard you say
Words of love's mystery,
Since I have known your kiss
Smile upon mine and press
Against my own and seen
Your eyes in tears mirroring mine—
Since one ray from your star
So often veiled too far
From me has shone across
The gap that severs us,
Since you have let me seize
One rose-leaf of your sweeter days—
I can tell the swift years,
'Pass by. Pass with your cares.
I will not age. Take all
Your withered flowers that fall
And go. Within my soul
There is a flower none can steal.
Let time's wing brush the jar
I've filled to the brim nor
Spill one drop. I've more flame
In my heart now than time
Has ash and I possess
More love than time forgetfulness.'
Translated by Harry Guest
Scheme | abab cdcd eded dcdc cbcb d fgfghihi jkjkldld x M Mxxxxj dbddaa nndddd ddoolx nxxxdd x |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (21%) |
Metre | 11111111111 11111111111 11111111 1111111 11111101011 1111110111 1111111111 11111111111 1111111111 1101111111 1111111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 111111111 111111111111 11101110111 11111111111 11011111111 110111111 1111 11111101 110110111 11111111 11011111 010110101 11111101 01111111 111101001 11111101 1111011 110100111 11110111 11110111 1111111 111100001 11111 010110110 111111 111111 111101 111111 0111001 111111 01010111 111111 111100 111111 101101 011101 11011001 111111 110111 111101 011101 111111 11111101 111011 111111 111111 1101011 010111 11010111 111101 111011 111111 011111 110101 11111 0101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,495 |
Words | 472 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 8, 8, 1, 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 1 |
Lines Amount | 70 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 119 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 2:29 min read
- 171 Views
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"Puisque j'ai mis ma lèvre (Since I Have Placed My Lip)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37790/puisque-j%27ai-mis-ma-l%C3%A8vre-%28since-i-have-placed-my-lip%29>.
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