Analysis of The Rupaiyat of Omar Kal'vin
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Allowing for the difference 'twixt prose and rhymed exaggeration, this ought to reproduce the sense of what Sir A-- told the nation sometime ago, when the Government struck from our incomes two per cent.
Now the New Year, reviving last Year's Debt,
The Thoughtful Fisher casteth wide his Net;
So I with begging Dish and ready Tongue
Assail all Men for all that I can get.
Imports indeed are gone with all their Dues --
Lo! Salt a Lever that I dare not use,
Nor may I ask the Tillers in Bengal --
Surely my Kith and Kin will not refuse!
Pay -- and I promise by the Dust of Spring,
Retrenchment. If my promises can bring
Comfort, Ye have Them now a thousandfold --
By Allah! I will promise Anything!
Indeed, indeed, Retrenchment oft before
I swore -- but did I mean it when I swore?
And then, and then, We wandered to the Hills,
And so the Little Less became Much More.
Whether a Boileaugunge or Babylon,
I know not how the wretched Thing is done,
The Items of Receipt grow surely small;
The Items of Expense mount one by one.
I cannot help it. What have I to do
With One and Five, or Four, or Three, or Two?
Let Scribes spit Blood and Sulphur as they please,
Or Statesmen call me foolish -- Heed not you.
Behold, I promise -- Anything You will.
Behold, I greet you with an empty Till --
Ah! Fellow-Sinners, of your Charity
Seek not the Reason of the Dearth, but fill.
For if I sinned and fell, where lies the Gain
Of Knowledge? Would it ease you of your Pain
To know the tangled Threads of Revenue,
I ravel deeper in a hopeless Skein?
"Who hath not Prudence" -- what was it I said,
Of Her who paints her Eyes and tires Her Head,
And gibes and mocks and People in the Street,
And fawns upon them for Her thriftless Bread?
Accursed is She of Eve's daughters -- She
Hath cast off Prudence, and Her End shall be
Destruction . . . Brethren, of your Bounty
Some portion of your daily Bread to Me.
Scheme | A BBXB CXXC DDAD EEXE XFXF GGXG HHIH JJGJ KKXK IIII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010100110100101110101111010101011010011101111 1011010111 010101111 1111010101 0111111111 0101111111 1101011111 111101010 1011011101 1011010111 0101110011 10111101 110111010 0101010101 1111111111 0101110101 0101010111 1001110 1111010111 0101011101 0101011111 1101111111 1101111111 1111010111 1101110111 011101011 0111111101 1101011100 1101010111 1111011101 1101111111 110101110 1101000101 1111011111 10110101001 0101010001 010111011 11111101 1111000111 010101110 1101110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,857 |
Words | 362 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 131 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 13, 2023
- 1:49 min read
- 85 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Rupaiyat of Omar Kal'vin" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33552/the-rupaiyat-of-omar-kal%27vin>.
Discuss this Rudyard Kipling poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In