Analysis of The Song of the English
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Fair is our lot -- O goodly is our heritage!
(Humble ye, my people, and be fearful in your mirth!)
For the Lord our God Most High
He hath made the deep as dry,
He hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the Earth!
Yea, though we sinned -- and our rulers went from righteousness --
Deep in all dishonour though we stained our garments' hem.
Oh be ye not dismayed,
Though we stumbled and we strayed,
We were led by evil counsellors -- the Lord shall deal with them!
Hold ye the Faith -- the Faith our Fathers seal]\ed us;
Whoring not with visions -- overwise and overstale.
Except ye pay the Lord
Single heart and single sword,
Of your children in their bondage shall He ask them treble-tale!
Keep ye the Law -- be swift in all obedience --
Clear the land of evil, drive the road and bridge the ford.
Make ye sure to each his own
That he reap where he hath sown;
By the peace among Our peoples let men know we serve the Lord!
Hear now a song -- a song of broken interludes --
A song of little cunning; of a singer nothing worth.
Through the naked words and mean
May ye see the truth between
As the singer knew and touched it in the ends of all the Earth!
Scheme | XABBA CDEED CFGGF XGHHG XAIIA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101110110100 1011100110011 10110111 1110111 11111011011101 11110101011100 101111110101 111101 1110011 101110100011111 110101101011 11110101 011101 1010101 111001101111101 110111010100 1011101010101 1111111 1111111 1010110101111101 11010111010 01110101010101 1010101 1110101 101010110011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,152 |
Words | 234 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 177 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 03, 2023
- 1:10 min read
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