Analysis of 1940
Bertolt Brecht 1898 (Augsburg) – 1956 (East Berlin)
My young son asks me: Must I learn mathematics?
What is the use, I feel like saying. That two pieces
Of bread are more than one's about all you'll end up with.
My young son asks me: Must I learn French?
What is the use, I feel like saying. This State's collapsing.
And if you just rub your belly with your hand and
Groan, you'll be understood with little trouble.
My young son asks me: Must I learn history?
What is the use, I feel like saying. Learn to stick
Your head in the earth, and maybe you'll still survive.
Yes, learn mathematics, I tell him.
Learn your French, learn your history!
| Scheme | XXXXXXXAXX XA |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 11111111010 1101111101110 1111110111111 111111111 11011111011010 011111101110 1110111010 11111111100 110111110111 110010101101 11010111 11111100 |
| Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
| Characters | 582 |
| Words | 113 |
| Sentences | 12 |
| Stanzas | 2 |
| Stanza Lengths | 10, 2 |
| Lines Amount | 12 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
| Words per line (avg) | 9 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 226 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 13, 2023
- 35 sec read
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"1940" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54835/1940>.
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