Analysis of Prometheus
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
COVER thy spacious heavens, Zeus,
With clouds of mist,
And, like the boy who lops
The thistles' heads,
Disport with oaks and mountain-peaks,
Yet thou must leave
My earth still standing;
My cottage too, which was not raised by thee;
Leave me my hearth,
Whose kindly glow
By thee is envied.
I know nought poorer
Under the sun, than ye gods!
Ye nourish painfully,
With sacrifices
And votive prayers,
Your majesty:
Ye would e'en starve,
If children and beggars
Were not trusting fools.
While yet a child
And ignorant of life,
I turned my wandering gaze
Up tow'rd the sun, as if with him
There were an ear to hear my wailings,
A heart, like mine,
To feel compassion for distress.
Who help'd me
Against the Titans' insolence?
Who rescued me from certain death,
From slavery?
Didst thou not do all this thyself,
My sacred glowing heart?
And glowedst, young and good,
Deceived with grateful thanks
To yonder slumbering one?
I honour thee! and why?
Hast thou e'er lighten'd the sorrows
Of the heavy laden?
Hast thou e'er dried up the tears
Of the anguish-stricken?
Was I not fashion'd to be a man
By omnipotent Time,
And by eternal Fate,
Masters of me and thee?
Didst thou e'er fancy
That life I should learn to hate,
And fly to deserts,
Because not all
My blossoming dreams grew ripe?
Here sit I, forming mortals
After my image;
A race resembling me,
To suffer, to weep,
To enjoy, to be glad,
And thee to scorn,
As I!
Scheme | AXAXXBXCXXX XXCXDCXXX XXXXAXX CXXCBXXXE FXEDEXXGC CGXXX XXCXXXF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10110101 1111 010111 0101 1110101 1111 11110 1101111111 1111 1101 11110 11110 1001111 110100 1100 011 1100 11111 110010 01101 1101 010011 1111001 11011111 10111111 0111 11010101 111 01010100 11011101 1100 1111111 110101 01101 011101 1101001 11101 111010010 101010 11101101 101010 111101101 101001 010101 101101 111010 1111111 01110 0111 1100111 1111010 10110 0101001 11011 101111 0111 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,361 |
Words | 257 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 9, 7, 9, 9, 5, 7 |
Lines Amount | 57 |
Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 571 Views
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"Prometheus" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21754/prometheus>.
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