Venetian Epigrams XCVI
Venetian Epigrams XCVI - form Summary
Epigram's Compressed Directional Contrast
This short epigram uses tight, economical phrasing to set up a spatial and emotional contrast between enticing southern pleasures and an irresistible northern pull. In a few lines Goethe stages a sudden inward turn: outward sights and lively seas fail to stir desire, and a single northern magnet summons the speaker back. The brevity sharpens the poem’s paradox, making the emotional shift immediate and memorable.
Read Complete AnalysesI saw the sea gleam, and the sweet waves glitter: Lively sails crossing it, with a following wind. My heart felt no desire: my languishing gaze Soon turned back again towards mountains and snow. How many treasures lie Southward! Yet one in the North Like a great magnet draws me irresistibly back.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.