Analysis of Ill-Starred
Charles Baudelaire 1821 (Paris) – 1867 (Paris)
To bear a weight that cannot be borne,
Sisyphus, even you aren't that strong,
Although your heart cannot be torn
Time is short and Art is long.
Far from celebrated sepulchers
Toward a solitary graveyard
My heart, like a drum muffled hard
Beats a funeral march for the ill-starred.
—Many jewels are buried or shrouded
In darkness and oblivion's clouds,
Far from any pick or drill bit,
Many a flower unburdens with regret
Its perfume sweet like a secret;
In profoundly empty solitude to sit.
Translated by William A. Sigler
Submitted by Ryan McGuire
Scheme | ABABCDDD XCE XXE X X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111011 11011011 1111011 1110111 111001 0101001 11101101 1010011011 1010110110 010011 11101111 100101101 10111010 0010101011 0101100100 01011001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 556 |
Words | 96 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 3, 3, 1, 1 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 88 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 13, 2023
- 29 sec read
- 70 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ill-Starred" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4932/ill-starred>.
Discuss this Charles Baudelaire 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