Analysis of The Coiner
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
To be sung by the unlearned to the tune of "King John and the Abbot of Canterbury," and by the learned to "Tempest-a-brewing."
Aga inst the Bermudas we foundered, whereby
This Master, that Swabber, yon Bo'sun, and I
(Our pinnace and crew being drowned in the main)
Must beg for our bread through old England again.
For a bite and a sup, and a bed of clean straw,
We'll tell you such marvels as man never saw,
On a Magical Island which no one did spy
Save this Master, that Swabber, yon Bo'sun, and I.
Seven months among Mermaids and Devils and Sprites,
And Voices that howl in the cedars o'nights,
With further enchantments we underwent there.
Good Sirs, 'tis a tale to draw guts from a bear!
'Twixt Dover and Southwark it paid us our way,
Where we found some poor players were labouring a play;
And, willing to search what such business might be,
We entered the yard, both to hear and to see.
One hailed us for seamen and courteous-ly
Did guide us apart to a tavern near by
Where we told him our tale (as to many of late),
And he gave us good cheer, so we gave him good weight.
Mulled sack and strong waters on bellies well lined
With beef and black pudding do strengthen the mind;
And seeing him greedy for marvels, at last
From plain salted truth to flat leasing we passed.
But he, when on midnight our reckoning he paid,
Says, "Never match coins with a Coiner by trade,
Or he'll turn your lead pieces to metal as rare
As shall fill him this globe, and leave something to spare...."
We slept where they laid us, and when we awoke
Was a crown or five shillings in every man's poke.
We bit them and rang them, and, finding them good,
We drank to that Coiner as honest men should!
For a cup and a crust, and a truss, etc.
Scheme | X AAXX BBAA CCDD EEXC AAFF GGHH IIDD JJKK X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101101111001011000101110010 101001011001 1101111101 10101101001 111101111001 101001001111 11111011101 101001011111 11101111101 10101101001 01011001011 11011011 11101111101 11001111101 11111100101 01011111011 11001111011 11111001001 11101101011 1111101111011 011111111111 11011011011 11011011001 01011011011 11101111011 111111010011 11011101011 111111011011 111111011011 11111101101 1011110010011 11101101011 11111011011 101001001100 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,697 |
Words | 333 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 39 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 132 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 71 Views
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"The Coiner" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33396/the-coiner>.
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