Analysis of From The Cantata For N. F. S. Grundtvig

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 1832 (Kvikne) – 1910 (Paris)



His day was the greatest the Northland has seen,
It one was with the midnight-sun's wonders serene:
The light wherein he sat was the light of God's true peace,
And that has never morning, nor night when it must cease.

In light of God's peace shone the
history
he gave,
The spirit's course on earth that shall conquer the grave.
Might of God's pure peace thus our
fathers'
mighty way
Before us for example and warning open lay.

In light of God's peace he beheld with watchful eye
The people at their work and the spirit's strivings high.
In light of God's pure peace he would have all learning glow,
And where his word is honored the 'Folk-High-Schools' must grow.

In light of God's peace stood 'mid sorrow and care
For Denmark's folk his comfort, a castle strong and fair;
In light of God's pure peace there shall once again be won
And thousand-fold increased, what seems lost now and undone.

In light of God's peace stands his patriarch-worth,
The sum and the amen of a manful life on earth.
In light of God's pure peace how his face shone, lifted up,
When white-haired at the altar he held th' atoning cup.

In light of God's peace came his word o'er the wave,
In light of God's pure peace sound the sweet psalms he gave.
In light of God's pure peace, as its sunbeam curtains fall
To hide him from us, stands now his memory for all.


Scheme AABB XXCCXXDD EEFF GGHH IIJJ CCKK
Poetic Form
Metre 1110100111 11110111001 0101111011111 0111010111111 0111110 100 11 010111111001 11111110 10 101 0111010010101 01111111101 0101110010101 0111111111101 0111110011111 01111111001 111110010101 0111111110111 0101011111001 0111111101 010001101111 0111111111101 1111010111111 011111111001 011111101111 011111111101 1111111110011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,316
Words 249
Sentences 11
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 8, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 37
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 172
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:19 min read
53

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit", becoming the first Norwegian Nobel laureate. Bjørnson is considered to be one of The Four Greats (De Fire Store) among Norwegian writers, the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland. Bjørnson is also celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet". more…

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