Analysis of River Lilies
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
Saw a boy three lilies white,
Lilies in the river,
Half heart-open to the light,
Full of golden arrows bright,
Each a silver quiver.
Lilies, lilies, lilies white,
Lilies in the river.
Said the boy, “I’ll pluck you there,
Lilies in the river!”
Said the lilies, “If you dare
You shall drown, or homeward fare
Dripping and a-shiver!”
Lilies, lilies, lilies white,
Lilies in the river.
Wilful still the boy would clasp
Lilies in the river;
Tumbled in ere he could grasp,
Scrambled out with puff and gasp,
Plucked no lilies ever.
Lilies, lilies, lilies white,
Lilies in the river.
Scheme | aBaabAB cBccbAB dBddbAB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011101 100010 1110101 1110101 101010 1010101 100010 1011111 100010 1010111 1111101 100010 1010101 100010 110111 100010 1001111 1011101 111010 1010101 100010 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 573 |
Words | 104 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 147 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 80 Views
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"River Lilies" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21763/river-lilies>.
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