Analysis of The Fires
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Men make them fires on the hearth
Each under his roof-tree,
And the Four Winds that rule the earth
They blow the smoke to me.
Across the high hills and the sea
And all the changeful skies,
The Four Winds blow the smoke to me
Till the tears are in my eyes.
Until the tears are in my eyes.
And my heart is wellnigh broke
For thinking on old memories
That gather in the smoke.
With every shift of every wind
The homesick memories come,
From every quarter of mankind
Where I have made me a home.
Four times a fire against the cold
And a roof against the rain --
Sorrow fourfold and joy fourfold
The Four Winds bring again!
How can I answer which is best
Of all the fires that burn?
I have been too often host or guest
At every fire in turn.
How can I turn from any fire,
On any man's hearthstone?
I know the wonder and desire
That went to build my own!
How can I doubt man's joy or woe
Where'er his house-fires shine.
Since all that man must undergo
Will visit me at mine?
Oh, you Four Winds that blow so strong
And know that his is true,
Stoop for a little and carry my song
To all the men I knew!
Where there are fires against the cold,
Or roofs against the rain --
With love fourfold and joy fourfold,
Take them my songs again!
Scheme | XAXA ABAB BCXC DXDX EFEG HIHI JFJX KLKL MNMN EFEG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (70%) Etheree (23%) |
Metre | 11110101 110111 00111101 110111 01011001 01011 01110111 1011011 01011011 011111 11011100 110001 1100111001 011001 110010111 1111101 110100101 0010101 10110111 011101 11110111 1101011 111110111 11001001 111111010 11011 110100010 111111 11111111 1011101 1111101 110111 11111111 011111 1101001011 110111 111100101 110101 11110111 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,195 |
Words | 247 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 161 Views
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"The Fires" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33431/the-fires>.
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