Analysis of Kaspar Hauser's Song

Georg Trakl 1887 (Salzburg) – 1914 (Kraków)



He truly loved the purple sun, descending from the hills,
The ways through the woods, the singing blackbird
And the joys of green.

Sombre was his dwelling in the shadows of the tree
And his face undefiled.
God, a tender flame, spoke to his heart:
Oh son of man!

Silently his step turned to the city in the evening;
A mysterious complaint fell from his lips:
“I shall become a horseman.”

But bush and beast did follow his ways
To the pale people’s house and garden at dusk,
And his murderer sought after him.

Spring and summer and – oh so beautiful – the fall
Of the righteous. His silent steps
Passed by the dark rooms of the dreamers.

At night he and his star dwelled alone.
He saw the snow fall on bare branches
And in the murky doorway the assassin’s shadow.
Silvern sank the unborne’s head.


Scheme XAX XAXX XXX XXX XXX XXXX
Poetic Form Tetractys  (25%)
Etheree  (20%)
Metre 11010101010101 0110101010 00111 11110001101 0111 101011111 1111 10011110100010 00100011111 1101010 110111011 10110101011 011001101 101001110001 10101101 110111010 111011101 110111110 00010100101 11011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 797
Words 151
Sentences 11
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 104
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 08, 2023

45 sec read
264

Georg Trakl

Georg Trakl was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. more…

All Georg Trakl poems | Georg Trakl Books

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