Analysis of Summer
Georg Trakl 1887 (Salzburg) – 1914 (Kraków)
At evening in the woods
the cuckoos withhold their misery.
The cornstalks slant deeper into themselves,
the red poppies.
The blackening sky cracks open
over the hills.
The ancient song of the cricket
dies in the harbor.
It never stirs,
the crown of the chestnut.
Up the winding stairs
your dress rustles.
The candle’s glowing silence
darkens the room.
Your silver hand
quenches it.
Tonight, no wind, no stars.
Translated by Eric Plattner
Am Abend schweigt die Klage
Des Kuckucks im Wald.
Tiefer neigt sich das Korn,
Der rote Mohn.
Schwarzes Gewitter droht
Über dem Hügel.
Das alte Lied der Grille
Erstirbt im Feld.
Nimmer regt sich das Laub
Der Kastanie.
Auf der Wendeltreppe
Rauscht dein Kleid.
Stille leuchtet die Kerze
Im dunklen Zimmer;
Eine silberne Hand
Löschte sie aus;
Windstille, sternlose Nacht.
Scheme | AXXX BXCD XCXA XXEX X D XXXX CXXX XBXC ADEX C |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (34%) |
Metre | 110001 010011100 011100101 0110 01001110 1001 01011010 10010 1101 01101 10101 111 0101010 101 1101 101 011111 01011010 110111 1111 11111 111 111 1111 11111 111 101111 11 111 111 1111 1110 111 1111 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 873 |
Words | 138 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 59 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 12 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 117 Views
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"Summer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14772/summer>.
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