Analysis of To The Grasshopper

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)



HAPPY art thou, darling insect,
Who, upon the trees' tall branches,
By a modest draught inspired,
Singing, like a monarch livest!
Thou possessest as thy portion
All that on the plains thou seest,
All that by the hours is brought thee
'Mongst the husbandmen thou livest,
As a friend, uninjured by them,
Thou whom mortals love to honour,
Herald sweet of sweet Spring's advent!
Yes, thou'rt loved by all the Muses,

Phoebus' self, too, needs must love thee;
They their silver voices gave thee,
Age can never steal upon thee.
Wise and gentle friend of poets,
Born a creature fleshless, bloodless,
Though Earth's daughter, free from suff'ring,
To the gods e'en almost equal.


Scheme ABXAXACAXXXB CCCXXXX
Poetic Form
Metre 1011101 10101110 10101010 101011 111110 1110111 111010111 10111 10101011 1110111 1011111 11111010 10111111 11101011 11101011 10101110 1010110 1110111 10111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 658
Words 115
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 12, 7
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 261
Words per stanza (avg) 57
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
97

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and politician. more…

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