Analysis of A British-Roman Song

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



(A. D. 406)
"A Centurion of the Thirtieth"

My father's father saw it not,
And I, belike, shall never come
To look on that so-holy spot --
That very Rome --

Crowned by all Time, all Art, all Might,
The equal work of Gods and Man,
City beneath whose oldest height --
The Race began!

Soon to send forth again a brood,
Unshakable, we pray, that clings
To Rome's thrice-hammered hardihood --
In arduous things.

Strong heart with triple armour bound,
Beat strongly, for thy life-blood runs,
Age after Age, the Empire round --
In us thy Sons

Who, distant from the Seven Hills,
Loving and serving much, require
Thee -- thee to guard 'gainst home-born ills
The Imperial Fire!


Scheme AX BXBX CDCD XEAE FGFG HIHI
Poetic Form
Metre 01 0010010100 11010111 0111101 11111101 1101 11111111 01011101 10011101 0101 11110101 01001111 111101 01001 11110101 11011111 110101001 0111 11010101 10010110 11111111 0010010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 654
Words 122
Sentences 6
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 84
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

37 sec read
134

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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