Analysis of Kretschmann
John Le Gay Brereton 1871 (Sydney) – 1933
Love may trace his echoing footsteps, yet we never more shall meet
Rugged Kretschmann, the musician, plodding down a Sydney street,
Never see the low broad figure, massive head and shaggy mane
And the quiet furrowed features, never hear his voice again.
But from many a home there rises many a note that lingering rings
Ever since his cunning fingers touched and drew it from the strings;
All our land is full of noises; happy phantom fields of scent,
Bright with sunlit blossoms, echo birdlike music where he went.
He was old and grey and weary, death and he were long at grips,
Evil whispers hissed behind him, German to the finger-tips,
War's wild fury snarled about him, so he gently stepped aside,
Loving us and loving Germans, heavy-hearted, and he died.
Crusted shells, by ocean battered, taken from the barren shore
Bear within their hearts a murmur of the sea's eternal roar;
Who shall say what vital music, all unheard by duller ears,
Swept the soul of good old Kretschmann to his home amid the spheres?
Harmony was all his being, and he held the music sweet
Welling up in baby voices, beaten out by tiny feet;
Still with playthings in his pockets, rest and solace may he know,
Welcomed gladly to the kingdom where the little children go.
Scheme | AAXX BBCC DDEE FFGG AAHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (80%) |
Metre | 111110011110111 10100101010101 101011101010101 001010101011101 111001110100111001 101110101011101 1101111101010111 1111010110111 111010101010111 101010111010101 1110100111110101 101010101010011 101110101010101 101110101010101 111110101011101 10111111110101 100111100110101 101010101011101 11101101010111 101010101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,237 |
Words | 222 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 50 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 198 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 71 Views
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"Kretschmann" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23676/kretschmann>.
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