Analysis of The Lovers' Litany
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Eyes of grey -- a sodden quay,
Driving rain and falling tears,
As the steamer wears to sea
In a parting storm of cheers.
Sing, for Faith and Hope are high --
None so true as you and I --
Sing the Lovers' Litany:
"Love like ours can never die!"
Eyes of black -- a throbbing keel,
Milky foam to left and right;
Whispered converse near the wheel
In the brilliant tropic night.
Cross that rules the Southern Sky!
Stars that sweep and wheel and fly,
Hear the Lovers' Litany:
Love like ours can never die!"
Eyes of brown -- a dusy plain
Split and parched with heat of June,
Flying hoof and tightened rein,
Hearts that beat the old, old tune.
Side by side the horses fly,
Frame we now the old reply
Of the Lovers' Litany:
"Love like ours can never die!"
Eyes of blue -- the Simla Hills
Silvered with the moonlight hoar;
Pleading of the waltz that thrills,
Dies and echoes round Benmore.
"Mabel," "Officers," "Good-bye,"
Glamour, wine, and witchery --
On my soul's sincerity,
"Love like ours can never die!"
Maidens of your charity,
Pity my most luckless state.
Four times Cipid's debtor I --
Bankrupt in quadruplicate.
Yet, despite this evil case,
And a maiden showed me grace,
Four-and-forty times would I
Sing the Lovers' Litany:
"Love like ours can never die!"
Scheme | axaxbbAB cdcdbbaB efefbbaB ghghbhaB axbdiibAB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110101 1010101 1010111 0010111 1110111 1111101 1010100 11101101 1110101 1011101 1010101 0010101 1110101 1110101 1010100 11101101 111011 1011111 1010101 1110111 1110101 1110101 1010100 11101101 111011 11011 1010111 101011 1010011 10101 1110100 11101101 1011100 1011101 111101 1001 1011101 0010111 1010111 1010100 11101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,230 |
Words | 238 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 9 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 190 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 227 Views
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"The Lovers' Litany" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33490/the-lovers%27-litany>.
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