Analysis of Explanation Of An Ancient Woodcut
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
EARLY within his workshop here,
On Sundays stands our master dear;
His dirty apron he puts away,
And wears a cleanly doublet to-day;
Lets wax'd thread, hammer, and pincers rest,
And lays his awl within his chest;
The seventh day he takes repose
From many pulls and many blows.
Soon as the spring-sun meets his view,
Repose begets him labour anew;
He feels that he holds within his brain
A little world, that broods there amain,
And that begins to act and to live,
Which he to others would gladly give.
He had a skillful eye and true,
And was full kind and loving too.
For contemplation, clear and pure,--
For making all his own again, sure;
He had a tongue that charm'd when 'twas heard,
And graceful and light flow'd ev'ry word;
Which made the Muses in him rejoice,
The Master-singer of their choice.
And now a maiden enter'd there,
With swelling breast, and body fair;
With footing firm she took her place,
And moved with stately, noble grace;
She did not walk in wanton mood,
Nor look around with glances lewd.
She held a measure in her hand,
Her girdle was a golden band,
A wreath of corn was on her head,
Her eye the day's bright lustre shed;
Her name is honest Industry,
Else, Justice, Magnanimity.
She enter'd with a kindly greeting;
He felt no wonder at the meeting,
For, kind and fair as she might be,
He long had known her, fancied he.
"I have selected thee," she said,
"From all who earth's wild mazes tread,
That thou shouldst have clear-sighted sense,
And nought that's wrong shouldst e'er commence.
When others run in strange confusion,
Thy gaze shall see through each illusion
When others dolefully complain,
Thy cause with jesting thou shalt gain,
Honour and right shalt value duly,
In everything act simply, truly,--
Virtue and godliness proclaim,
And call all evil by its name,
Nought soften down, attempt no quibble,
Nought polish up, nought vainly scribble.
The world shall stand before thee, then,
As seen by Albert Durer's ken,
In manliness and changeless life,
In inward strength, with firmness rife.
Fair Nature's Genius by the hand
Shall lead thee on through every land,
Teach thee each different life to scan,
Show thee the wondrous ways of man,
His shifts, confusions, thrustings, and drubbings,
Pushings, tearings, pressings, and rubbings;
The varying madness of the crew,
The anthill's ravings bring to view;
But thou shalt see all this express'd,
As though 'twere in a magic chest.
Write these things down for folks on earth,
In hopes they may to wit give birth."--
Then she a window open'd wide,
And show'd a motley crowd outside,
All kinds of beings 'neath the sky,
As in his writings one may spy.
Our master dear was, after this,
On Nature thinking, full of bliss,
When tow'rd him, from the other side
He saw an aged woman glide;
The name she bears, Historia,
Mythologia, Fabula;
With footstep tottering and unstable
She dragg'd a large and wooden carved-table,
Where, with wide sleeves and human mien,
The Lord was catechizing seen;
Adam, Eve, Eden, the Serpent's seduction,
Gomorrah and Sodom's awful destruction,
The twelve illustrious women, too,
That mirror of honour brought to view;
All kinds of bloodthirstiness, murder, and sin,
The twelve wicked tyrants also were in,
And all kinds of goodly doctrine and law;
Saint Peter with his scourge you saw,
With the world's ways dissatisfied,
And by our Lord with power supplied.
Her train and dress, behind and before,
And e'en the seams, were painted o'er
With tales of worldly virtue and crime.--
Our master view'd all this for a time;
The sight right gladly he survey'd,
So useful for him in his trade,
Whence he was able to procure
Example good and precept sure,
Recounting all with truthful care,
As though he had been present there.
His spirit seem'd from earth to fly,
He ne'er had turned away his eye,
Did he not just behind him hear
A rattle of bells approaching near.
And now a fool doth catch his eye,
With goat and ape's leap drawing nigh
A merry interlude preparing
With fooleries and jests unsparing.
Behind him, in a line drawn out,
He dragg'd all fools, the lean and stout,
The great and little, the empty and full,
All too witty, and all too dull,
A lash he flourish'd overhead,
As though a dance of apes he led,
Abusing them with bitterness,
As though his wrath would ne'er grow less.
While on this sight our master gazed,
His h
Scheme | ABCCDDEE FFGGXX FFHHIIJJ KKLLMM NNOOPD QQPP OORRSSGGPPTTUUVVWWNNXXEEFFDDYYZZ1 1 2 2 ZZAUUU3 3 SSFF4 4 5 5 ZZXX6 6 7 7 HHKK1 1 AB1 1 QQ8 8 XUOOXX XX |
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Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1001111 11110101 110101101 01010111 111100101 01110111 01011101 11010101 11011111 01011101 111110111 01011111 010111011 111101101 11010101 01110101 1010101 110111011 110111111 01001111 110100101 01010111 01010101 11010101 11011101 01110101 11110101 11011101 11010001 01010101 01111101 01011101 01110100 1101 110101010 111101010 11011111 11110101 11010111 11111101 11111101 011111001 110101010 111111010 110101 1111111 10111010 01011010 100101 01110111 110101110 110111010 01110111 1111011 01011 01011101 11010101 111111001 111100111 11010111 11010101 11101 010010101 011111 11111101 11100101 11111111 01111111 11010101 01010111 11110101 10110111 101011101 11010111 11110101 1111101 01111 11 111000010 1101010110 11110101 01111 10110010010 0100110010 010100101 11011111 11111001 0110101000 0111101001 11011111 1011010 0110111001 010101001 0110101010 111101001 1010111101 01110101 11011011 11110101 0101011 01011101 11111101 11011111 11110111 11110111 010110101 01011111 11011101 01010010 1101010 01100111 11110101 0101001001 11100111 01110101 11011111 01011100 11111111 111110101 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 4,212 |
Words | 766 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6, 8, 6, 6, 4, 34, 46, 2 |
Lines Amount | 120 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 375 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 85 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:59 min read
- 61 Views
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"Explanation Of An Ancient Woodcut" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21651/explanation-of-an-ancient-woodcut>.
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