Analysis of A School Song
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Prelude to "Stalky & Co."
"Let us now praise famous men"--
Men of little showing--
For their work continueth,
And their work continueth,
Broad and deep continues,
Greater then their knowing!
Western wind and open surge
Took us from our mothers--
Flung us on a naked shore
(Twelve bleak houses by the shore.
Seven summers by the shore! )
'Mid two hundred brothers.
There we met with famous men
Set in office o'er us;
And they beat on us with rods--
Faithfully with many rods--
Daily beat us on with rods,
For the love they bore us!
Out of Egypt unto Troy--
Over Himalaya--
Far and sure our bands have gone--
Hy-Brazil or Babylon,
Islands of the Southern Run,
And Cities of Cathaia!
And we all praise famous men--
Ancients of the College;
For they taught us common sense--
Tried to teach us common sense--
Truth and God's Own Common Sense,
Which is more than knowledge!
Each degree of Latitude
Strung about Creation
Seeth one or more of us
(Of one muster each of us),
Diligent in that he does,
Keen in his vocation.
This we learned from famous men,
Knowing not its uses,
When they showed, in daily work--
Man must finish off his work--
Right or wrong, his daily work--
And without excuses.
Servant of the Staff and chain,
Mine and fuse and grapnel--
Some, before the face of Kings,
Stand before the face of Kings;
Bearing gifts to divers Kings--
Gifts of case and shrapnel.
This we learned from famous men
Teaching in our borders,
Who declared it was best,
Safest, easiest, and best--
Expeditious, wise, and best--
To obey your orders.
Some beneath the further stars
Bear the greater burden:
Set to serve the lands they rule,
(Save he serve no man may rule),
Serve and love the lands they rule;
Seeking praise nor guerdon.
This we learned from famous men,
Knowing not we learned it.
Only, as the years went by--
Lonely, as the years went by--
Far from help as years went by,
Plainer we discerned it.
Wherefore praise we famous men
From whose bays we borrow--
They that put aside To-day--
All the joys of their To-day--
And with toil of their To-day
Bought for us To-morrow!
Bless and praise we famous men--
Men of little showing--
For their work continueth,
And their work continueth,
Broad and deep continueth,
Great beyond their knowing!
Scheme | a bCDDxc xefffe bghhhg xxxxid bxjjjx xiggki Bklllx xmnnnm Beoooe ximmmb Bpqqqp barrra bCDDdc |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101 1111101 111010 1111 0111 101010 101110 1010101 1111010 1110101 1110101 1010101 111010 1111101 1010101 0111111 1001101 1011111 101111 1110101 10010 10110111 101110 1010101 01011 0111101 101010 1111101 1111101 1011101 111110 101110 101010 111111 1110111 1000111 101010 1111101 101110 1110101 1110111 1111101 001010 1010101 10101 1010111 1010111 1011101 111010 1111101 1001010 101111 1010001 010101 101110 1010101 101010 1110111 1111111 1010111 10111 1111101 101111 1010111 1010111 1111111 101011 111101 11111 1110111 1011111 0111111 111110 1011101 111010 1111 0111 1011 101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 2,170 |
Words | 403 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 14 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 79 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 123 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 2:01 min read
- 154 Views
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"A School Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33131/a-school-song>.
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