Analysis of The Burden

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



One grief on me is laid
Each day of every year,
Wherein no soul can aid,
Whereof no soul can hear:
Whereto no end is seen
Except to grieve again--
Ah, Mary Magdalene,
Where is there greater pain?

To dream on dear disgrace
Each hour of every day--
To bring no honest face
To aught I do or say:
To lie from morn till e'en--
To know my lies are vain--
Ah, Mary Magdalene,
Where can be greater pain?

To watch my steadfast fear
Attend mine every way
Each day of every year--
Each hour of every day:
To burn, and chill between--
To quake and rage again--
Ah, Mary Magdalene,
Where shall be greater pain:

One grave to me was given--
To guard till Judgment Day--
But God looked down from Heaven
And rolled the Stone away!
One day of all my years--
One hour of that one day--
His Angel saw my tears
And rolled the Stone away!


Scheme aBaxcdCe fGfgdeCe bgBGcdCe hghGxgxG
Poetic Form
Metre 111111 1111001 011111 11111 11111 011101 11010 111101 111101 11011001 111101 111111 1111111 111111 11010 111101 11111 0111001 1111001 11011001 110101 110101 11010 111101 1111110 111101 1111110 010101 111111 1101111 110111 010101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 793
Words 162
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 19
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 154
Words per stanza (avg) 40
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
80

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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