Analysis of The Earth
Boris Pasternak 1890 (Moscow) – 1960 (Peredelkino)
Spring bursts violently
into Moscow houses.
Moths flutter about
crawl on summer hats,
and furs hide secretly.
Pots of wallflowers and stock
stand, in the window, just,
of wooden second storeys,
the rooms breathe liberty,
the smell of attics is dust.
The street is friends
with the bleary glass,
and white night and sunset
at one, by the river, pass.
In the passage you’ll know
what’s going on below
and April’s casual flow
of words with drops of thaw.
It’s a thousand stories veiled
in a human sadness,
and twilight along the fence
grows chill with the tale.
Outside, or snug at home
the same fire and hesitation:
everywhere air’s unsure.
The same cut willow twigs,
the same white swell of buds,
at crossroads, windows above,
in streets, and workshop-doors.
Then why does the far horizon weep
in mist, and the soil smell bitter?
After all, it’s my calling, surely,
to see no distance is lonely,
and past the town boundary,
to see that earth doesn’t suffer.
That’s why in early spring
we meet, my friends and I,
and our evenings are – farewell documents,
our gatherings are – testaments,
so the secret stream of suffering
may warm the cold of life.
Scheme | ABXXA XCBAC XDXD EEEX XXXX XXXX XXX XFAAAF GXHHGX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111000 01110 11001 11101 011100 11101 100101 110101 011100 0111011 0111 10101 01101 1110101 001011 010101 011001 111111 1010101 001010 010101 11101 111111 01100010 10101 01111 011111 111001 01011 111010101 01001110 101111010 11110110 0101100 1111110 110101 111101 0101011100 101001100 101011100 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,135 |
Words | 204 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 100 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 124 Views
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"The Earth" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4545/the-earth>.
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