Analysis of A Death-Bed
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
This is the State above the Law.
The State exists for the State alone."
[This is a gland at the back of the jaw,
And an answering lump by the collar-bone.]
Some die shouting in gas or fire;
Some die silent, by shell and shot.
Some die desperate, caught on the wire -
Some die suddenly. This will not.
"Regis suprema voluntas Lex"
[It will follow the regular course of--throats.]
Some die pinned by the broken decks,
Some die sobbing between the boats.
Some die eloquent, pressed to death
By the sliding trench as their friends can hear
Some die wholly in half a breath.
Some--give trouble for half a year.
"There is neither Evil nor Good in life
Except as the needs of the State ordain."
[Since it is rather too late for the knife,
All we can do is to mask the pain.]
Some die saintly in faith and hope--
One died thus in a prison-yard--
Some die broken by rape or the rope;
Some die easily. This dies hard.
"I will dash to pieces who bar my way.
Woe to the traitor! Woe to the weak! "
[Let him write what he wishes to say.
It tires him out if he tries to speak.]
Some die quietly. Some abound
In loud self-pity. Others spread
Bad morale through the cots around .
This is a type that is better dead.
"The war was forced on me by my foes.
All that I sought was the right to live."
[Don't be afraid of a triple dose;
The pain will neutralize all we give.
Here are the needles. See that he dies
While the effects of the drug endure. . . .
What is the question he asks with his eyes?--
Yes, All-Highest, to God, be sure.]
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GXGX HIHI JKJK LMLM NONO XXXX PQPQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (80%) Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 11010101 010110101 1101101101 01100110101 111001110 11101101 111011010 11100111 10111 11100100111 11110101 11100101 11100111 1010111111 11100101 11101101 1110101101 0110110101 1111011101 111111101 11100101 11100101 111011101 11100111 1111101111 110101101 111111011 1101111111 11100101 01110101 10110101 110111101 011111111 111110111 110110101 01110111 110101111 100110101 1101011111 11101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,486 |
Words | 304 |
Sentences | 34 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 115 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:30 min read
- 250 Views
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"A Death-Bed" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33116/a-death-bed>.
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