Analysis of The Masque of Plenty



Argument. -- The Indian Government being minded to discover the economic condition of their lands, sent a Committee to inquire into it; and saw that it was good.

Scene. -- The wooded heights of Simla. The Incarnation of the Government of India in the raiment of the Angel of Plenty signs, to pianoforte accompaniment: --

"How sweet is the shepherd's sweet life!
From the dawn to the even he strays --
And his tongue shall be filled with praise.
 (adagio dim.) Filled with praise!"

(largendo con sp.) Now this is the position,
Go make an inquisition
Into their real condition
As swiftly as ye may.

(p) Ay, paint our swarthy billions
The richest of vermillions
Ere two well-led cotillions
Have danced themselves away.

Turkish Patrol, as able and intelligent Investigators wind down the Himalayas: --

What is the state of the Nation? What is its occupation?
Hi! get along, get along, get along -- lend us the information!

(dim.) Census the byle and the yabu -- capture a first-class Babu,
Set him to file Gazetteers -- Gazetteers . . .
(ff) What is the state of the Nation, etc., etc.

Interlude, from Nowhere in Particular, to stringed and Oriental instruments.

Our cattle reel beneath the yoke they bear --
The earth is iron and the skies are brass --
And faint with fervour of the flaming air
The languid hours pass.

The well is dry beneath the village tree --
The young wheat withers ere it reach a span,
And belts of blinding sand show cruelly
Where once the river ran.

Pray, brothers, pray, but to no earthly King --
Lift up your hands above the blighted grain,
Look westward -- if they please, the Gods shall bring
Their mercy with the rain.

Look westward -- bears the blue no brown cloud-bank?
Nay, it is written -- wherefore should we fly?
On our own field and by our cattle's flank
Lie down, lie down to die!

By the plumed heads of Kings
Waving high,
Where the tall corn springs
O'er the dead.
If they rust or rot we die,
If they ripen we are fed.
Very mighty is the power of our Kings!

Triumphal return to Simla of the Investigators, attired after
the manner of Dionysus, leading a pet tiger-cub in wreaths
of rhubarb-leaves, symbolical of India under medical treatment.
They sing: --

We have seen, we have written -- behold it, the proof of our manifold toil!
In their hosts they assembled and told it -- the tale of the Sons of the Soil.
We have said of the Sickness -- "Where is it?" -- and of Death -- "It is far from our ken," --
We have paid a particular visit to the affluent children of men.
We have trodden the mart and the well-curb -- we hae stooped to the bield and the byre;
And the King may the forces of Hell curb for the People have all they desire!

Castanets and step-dance: --

Oh, the dom and the mag and the thakur and the thag,
And the nat and the brinjaree,
And the bunnia and the ryot are as happy and as quiet
And as plump as they can be!

Yes, the jain and the jat in his stucco-fronted hut,
And the bounding bazugar,
By the favour of the King, are as fat as anything,
They are -- they are -- they are!

Recitative, Government of India, with white satin wings
and electro-plated harp: --

How beautiful upon the Mountains -- in peace reclining,
Thus to be assured that our people are unanimously dining.
And though there are places not so blessed as others in naural advantages, which, after all, was only to be expected,
Proud and glad are we to congratulate you upon the work you have thus ably effected.
(Cres.) How be-ewtiful upon the Mountains!

Hired Band, brasses only, full chorus: --

God bless the Squire
And all his rich relations
Who teach us poor people
We eat our proper rations --
We eat our proper rations,
In spite of inundations,
Malarial exhalations,
And casual starvations,
We have, we have, they say we have --
We have our proper rations!

Chorus of the Crystallised Facts

Before the beginning of years
There came to the rule of the State
Men with a pair of shears,
Men with an Estimate --
Strachey with Muir for leaven,
Lytton with locks that fell,
Ripon fooling with Heaven,
And Temple riding like H--ll!
And the bigots took in hand
Cess and the falling of rain,
And the measure of sifted sand
The dealer puts in the grain --
Imports by land and sea,
To uttermost decimal worth,
And registration -- free --
In the houses of death and of birth.
And fashioned w


Scheme x a xbbb cccd ebbd f cc gbh x ijij klkl mnmn opop qpqrprq sxam ttuuis x hivk vimx qx mmwwe f xexEEebbxe x xxxvcxcpxnxnkykyg
Poetic Form
Metre 100010010010101010001001011110010101011011111 10101110011010100110000110101101110100 11101011 101101011 01111111 0101111 1111110010 111010 0111010 110111 111101010 01011 11111 110101 1001110001000100110010 11011010111010 1101101101110010 110010011001101 111111 111011010100100 101100100110010100 10101010111 0111000111 011110101 010101 0111010101 0111011101 011101110 110101 1101111101 1111010101 1101110111 110101 1101011111 111101111 11011011011 111111 101111 101 10111 1001 1111111 1110111 101010101101 01001111001000110 01011100110101 111111001010010 11 111111001101110101 011101001101101101 11110101110111111101 1110010010101001011 1110010011111101001 00110101111010111010 1011 101001001001 001001 00100111100110 0111111 1010010110101 00101 101101111110 111111 1100110011101 0010101 11000101001010 111011101010100010 011110111110010100110111011010 1011110101010111110010 111101010 1011010110 1101 0111010 111110 11101010 11101010 011010 01001 01001 11111111 11101010 101011 01001011 11101101 110111 111100 111110 101111 110110 01010111 0010101 1001011 00101101 0101001 011101 111001 00101 001011011 010100
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 4,220
Words 799
Sentences 47
Stanzas 25
Stanza Lengths 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 7, 4, 6, 1, 4, 4, 2, 5, 1, 10, 1, 17
Lines Amount 99
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 132
Words per stanza (avg) 32
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 06, 2023

3:59 min read
104

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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