Analysis of Mowgli's Song Against People

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



I will let loose against you the fleet-footed vines--
I will call in the Jungle to stamp out your lines!
The roofs shall fade before it,
The house-beams shall fall;
And the Karela, the bitter Karela,
Shall cover it all!

In the gates of these your councils my people shall sing.
In the doors of these your garners the Bat-folk shall cling;
And the snake shall be your watchman,
By a hearthstone unswept;
For the Karela, the bitter Karela,
Shall fruit where ye slept!

Ye shall not see my strikers; ye shall hear them and guess.
By night, before the moon-rise, I will send for my cess,
And the wolf shall be your herdsman
By a landmark removed;
For the Karela, the bitter Karela,
Shall seed where ye loved!

I will reap your fields before you at the hands of a host.
Ye shall glean behind my reapers for the bread that is lost;
And the deer shall be your oxen
On a headland untilled;
For the Karela, the bitter Karela,
Shall leaf where ye build!

I have untied against you the club-footed vines--
I have sent in the Jungle to swamp out your lines!
The trees--the trees are on you!
The house-beams shall fall;
And the Karela, the bitter Karela,
Shall cover you all!


Scheme aabCCc ddebCx xaexCx xxebCx aaxCCc
Poetic Form Tetractys  (27%)
Metre 111101101101 111001011111 0111011 01111 0010101 11011 0011111011011 0011111001111 00111110 1011 1010101 11111 1111110111101 1101011111111 0011111 10101 1010101 11111 11111011101101 1110111101111 00111110 1011 1010101 11111 110101101101 111001011111 0101111 01111 0010101 11011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,138
Words 217
Sentences 12
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 180
Words per stanza (avg) 43
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 09, 2023

1:05 min read
149

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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