Analysis of To Charlotte
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
'MIDST the noise of merriment and glee,
'Midst full many a sorrow, many a care,
Charlotte, I remember, we remember thee,
How, at evening's hour so fair,
Thou a kindly hand didst reach us,
When thou, in some happy place
Where more fair is Nature s face,
Many a lightly-hidden trace
Of a spirit loved didst teach us.
Well 'tis that thy worth I rightly knew,--
That I, in the hour when first we met,
While the first impression fill'd me yet,
Call'd thee then a girl both good and true.
Rear'd in silence, calmly, knowing nought,
On the world we suddenly are thrown;
Hundred thousand billows round us sport;
All things charm us--many please alone,
Many grieve us, and as hour on hour is stealing,
To and fro our restless natures sway;
First we feel, and then we find each feeling
By the changeful world-stream borne away.
Well I know, we oft within us find
Many a hope and many a smart.
Charlotte, who can know our mind?
Charlotte, who can know our heart?
Ah! 'twould fain be understood, 'twould fain o'erflow
In some creature's fellow-feelings blest,
And, with trust, in twofold measure know
All the grief and joy in Nature's breast.
Then thine eye is oft around thee cast,
But in vain, for all seems closed for ever.
Thus the fairest part of life is madly pass'd
Free from storm, but resting never:
To thy sorrow thou'rt to-day repell'd
By what yesterday obey'd thee.
Can that world by thee be worthy held
Which so oft betray'd thee?
Which, 'mid all thy pleasures and thy pains,
Lived in selfish, unconcern'd repose?
See, the soul its secret cells regains,
And the heart--makes haste to close.
Thus found I thee, and gladly went to meet thee;
"She's worthy of all love!" I cried,
And pray'd that Heaven with purest bliss might greet thee,
Which in thy friend it richly hath supplied.
Scheme | A BA BC D D DC E F FE F GX GH IH I J KJ KA LX L M NM NO AO A P XP XA QA Q |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011101 11100101001 10101010101 11101011 10101111 1101101 11111011 10010101 10101111 111111101 1100101111 101010111 111011101 101010101 101110011 101010111 111110101 10110110110110 1011010101 1110111110 10111101 111110111 100101001 10111101 10111101 111101111 01110101 011011101 101010101 111110111 1011111110 10101111101 11111010 111011101 1110011 111111101 111011 111110011 10100101 101110101 0011111 11110101111 11011111 011101101111 1011110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,745 |
Words | 324 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 29 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 47 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 11 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:41 min read
- 96 Views
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"To Charlotte" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21897/to-charlotte>.
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