Analysis of Lying In Grass
Hermann Hesse 1877 (Calw) – 1962 (Montagnola)
Is this everything now, the quick delusions of flowers,
And the down colors of the bright summer meadow,
The soft blue spread of heaven, the bees' song,
Is this everything only a god's
Groaning dream,
The cry of unconscious powers for deliverance?
The distant line of the mountain,
That beautifully and courageously rests in the blue,
Is this too only a convulsion,
Only the wild strain of fermenting nature,
Only grief, only agony, only meaningless fumbling,
Never resting, never a blessed movement?
No! Leave me alone, you impure dream
Of the world in suffering!
The dance of tiny insects cradles you in an evening radiance,
The bird's cry cradles you,
A breath of wind cools my forehead
With consolation.
Leave me alone, you unendurably old human grief!
Let it all be pain.
Let it all be suffering, let it be wretched-
But not this one sweet hour in the summer,
And not the fragrance of the red clover,
And not the deep tender pleasure
In my soul.
Translated by James Wright
Submitted by Holt
Scheme | XXXXABCDCEFXAFBDXCXXXEEEX X X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110101010110 00110101101 0111110011 11101001 101 011101010100 01011010 1100001001001 111100010 10011101010 1011010010100100 1010100110 111011011 1010100 0111011010110100 011101 01111110 1010 1101111101 11111 111110011110 11111100010 0101010110 01011010 011 010111 01011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 977 |
Words | 176 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 25, 1, 1 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 263 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 58 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 93 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Lying In Grass" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19147/lying-in-grass>.
Discuss this Hermann Hesse 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