Analysis of The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
This is the mouth-filling song of the race that was run by a Boomer.
Run in a single burst--only event of its kind--
Started by Big God Nqong from Warrigaborrigarooma,
Old Man Kangaroo first, Yellow-Dog Dingo behind.
Kangaroo bounded away, his back-legs working like pistons--
Bounded from morning till dark, twenty-five feet at a bound.
Yellow-Dog Dingo lay like a yellow cloud in the distance--
Much too busy to bark. My! but they covered the ground!
Nobody knows where they went, or followed the track that they flew in,
For that Continent hadn't been given a name.
They ran thirty degrees from Torres Straits to Leeuwin
(Look at the Atlas, please then they ran back as they came.
S'posing you could trot from Adelaide to the Pacific
For an afternoon's run -- half what these gentlemen did--
You would feel rather hot, but your legs would develop terrific,
Yes, my importunate son, you'd be a Marvellous Kid!
Scheme | XABA XCXC DBDB EFEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11011011011111010 1001011001111 10111111 110111011001 01100111110110 10110111011101 101101101010010 1110111111001 11111110011110 111001011001 11100111111 1101011111111 11011111010010 110111111001 1111011111010010 111111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 904 |
Words | 159 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 45 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 178 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 136 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33565/the-sing-song-of-old-man-kangaroo>.
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