Analysis of L'envoi To "Life's Handicap"
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
My new-cut ashlar takes the light
Where crimson-blank the windows flare;
By my own work, before the night,
Great Overseer I make my prayer.
If there be good in that I wrought,
Thy hand compelled it, Master, Thine;
Where I have failed to meet Thy thought
I know, through Thee, the blame is mine.
One instant's toil to Thee denied
Stands all Eternity's offence,
Of that I did with Thee to guide
To Thee, through Thee, be excellence.
Who, lest all thought of Eden fade,
Bring'st Eden to the craftsman's brain,
Godlike to muse o'er his own trade
And Manlike stand with God again.
The depth and dream of my desire,
The bitter paths wherein I stray,
Thou knowest Who hast made the Fire,
Thou knowest Who hast made the Clay!
One stone the more swings to her place
In that dread Temple of Thy Worth --
It is enough that through Thy grace
I saw naught common on Thy earth.
Take not that vision from my ken;
Oh whatsoe'er may spoil or speed,
Help me to need no aid from men
That I may help such men as need!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GXGH IJIJ FKFK HLHL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (86%) |
Metre | 1111101 11010101 11110101 110101111 11110111 11011101 11111111 11110111 1111101 1111 11111111 11111100 11111101 11101011 11110111 0111101 010111010 01010111 11111010 1111101 11011101 01110111 11011111 11110111 11110111 111111 11111111 11111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 998 |
Words | 192 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 110 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 59 sec read
- 117 Views
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"L'envoi To "Life's Handicap"" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33264/l%27envoi-to-%22life%27s-handicap%22>.
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