Analysis of Lukannon

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



I met my mates in the morning (and oh, but I am old!)
Where roaring on the ledges the summer ground-swell rolled;
I heard them lift the chorus that dropped the breakers' song --
The beaches of Lukannon -- two million voices strong!

The song of pleasant stations beside the salt lagoons,
The song of blowing squadrons that shuffled down the dunes,
The song of midnight dances that churned the sea to flame --
The beaches of Lukannon -- before the sealers came!

I met my mates in the morning (I'll never meet them more!);
They came and went in legions that darkened all the shore.
And through the foam-flecked offing as far as voice could reach
We hailed the landing-parties and we sang them up the beach.

The beaches of Lukannon -- the winter-wheat so tall --
The dripping, crinkled lichens, and the sea-fog drenching all!
The platforms of our playground, all shining smooth and worn!
The beaches of Lukannon -- the home where we were born!

I meet my mates in the morning, a broken, scattered band.
Men shoot us in the water and club us on the land;
Men drive us to the Salt House like silly sheep and tame,
And still we sing Lukannon -- before the sealers came.

Wheel down, wheel down to southward; oh, Gooverooska go!
And tell the Deep-Sea Viceroys! the story of our woe;
Ere, empty as the shark's egg the tempest flings ashore,
The beaches of Lukannon shall know their sons no more!


Scheme AABB CCDD EEFF GGHH IIDD JJEE
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11110010011111 1101010010111 1111010110101 01011110101 0111010010101 0111010110101 011110110111 0101101011 11110010110111 1101010110101 0101110111111 11010100111101 01011010111 0101100011101 011101110101 01011011101 11110010010101 1110010011101 1111011110101 0111101011 1111110111 0101110101101 1101011010101 01011111111
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,372
Words 256
Sentences 15
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 45
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 179
Words per stanza (avg) 42
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 01, 2023

1:17 min read
106

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist chiefly remembered for his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and his tales for children. more…

All Rudyard Kipling poems | Rudyard Kipling Books

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    Who wrote the poem, "The cask of Amontillado"?
    A Emily Dickinson
    B Miguel De Cervantes
    C Edgar Allan Poe
    D Rudyard Kipling