Analysis of For All We Have and Are
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
For all we have and are,
For all our children's fate,
Stand up and meet the war.
The Hun is at the gate!
Our world has passed away
In wantonness o'erthrown.
There is nothing left to-day
But steel and fire and stone.
Though all we knew depart,
The old commandments stand:
"In courage keep your heart,
In strength lift up your hand."
Once more we hear the word
That sickened earth of old:
"No law except the sword
Unsheathed and uncontrolled,"
Once more it knits mankind,
Once more the nations go
To meet and break and bind
A crazed and driven foe.
Comfort, content, delight --
The ages' slow-bought gain --
They shrivelled in a night,
Only ourselves remain
To face the naked days
In silent fortitude,
Through perils and dismays
Renewd and re-renewed.
Though all we made depart,
The old commandments stand:
"In patience keep your heart,
In strength lift up your hand."
No easy hopes or lies
Shall bring us to our goal,
But iron sacrifice
Of body, will, and soul.
There is but one task for all --
For each one life to give.
Who stands if freedom fall?
Who dies if England live?
Scheme | xaxabcbc dEdE xfxfghgh icicjkjk dEdE xlxlmxmx |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (28%) |
Metre | 111101 1110101 110101 011101 1011101 011 1110111 1101001 111101 010101 010111 011111 111101 110111 110101 1001 111111 110101 110101 010101 101001 010111 11001 1000101 110101 01010 110001 10101 111101 010101 010111 011111 110111 1111101 11010 110101 1111111 111111 111101 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,082 |
Words | 202 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8, 8, 4, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 436 Views
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"For All We Have and Are" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33209/for-all-we-have-and-are>.
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