The Shepherd's Lament
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)
ON yonder lofty mountain
A thousand times I stand,
And on my staff reclining,
Look down on the smiling land.
My grazing flocks then I follow,
My dog protecting them well;
I find myself in the valley,
But how, I scarcely can tell.
The whole of the meadow is cover'd
With flowers of beauty rare;
I pluck them, but pluck them unknowing
To whom the offering to bear.
In rain and storm and tempest,
I tarry beneath the tree,
But closed remaineth yon portal;
'Tis all but a vision to me.
High over yonder dwelling,
There rises a rainbow gay;
But she from home hath departed
And wander'd far, far away.
Yes, far away bath she wander'd,
Perchance e'en over the sea;
Move onward, ye sheep, then, move onward!
Full sad the shepherd must be.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 14, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 115 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | X AB A X CD C E FB F X DX D B GX G E DE D |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 715 |
Words | 137 |
Stanzas | 18 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 |
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"The Shepherd's Lament" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/21869/the-shepherd's-lament>.
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