Analysis of The First Chantey
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Mine was the woman to me, darkling I found her;
Haling her dumb from the camp, took her and bound her.
Hot rose her tribe on our track ere I had proved her;
Hearing her laugh in the gloom, greatly I loved her.
Swift through the forest we ran; none stood to guard us,
Few were my people and far; then the flood barred us --
Him we call Son of the Sea, sullen and swollen.
Panting we waited the death, stealer and stolen.
Yet ere they came to my lance laid for the slaughter,
Lightly she leaped to a log lapped in the water;
Holding on high and apart skins that arrayed her,
Called she the God of the Wind that He should aid her.
Life had the tree at that word (Praise we the Giver!)
Otter-like left he the bank for the full river.
Far fell their axes behind, flashing and ringing,
Wonder was on me and fear -- yet she was singing!
Low lay the land we had left. Now the blue bound us,
Even the Floor of the Gods level around us.
Whisper there was not, nor word, shadow nor showing,
Till the light stirred on the deep, glowing and growing.
Then did He leap to His place flaring from under,
He the Compeller, the Sun, bared to our wonder.
Nay, not a league from our eyes blinded with gazing,
Cleared He the gate of the world, huge and amazing!
This we beheld (and we live) -- the Pit of the Burning!
Then the God spoke to the tree for our returning;
Back to the beach of our flight, fearless and slowly,
Back to our slayers went he: but we were holy.
Men that were hot in that hunt, women that followed,
Babes that were promised our bones, trembled and wallowed:
Over the necks of the Tribe crouching and fawning --
Prophet and priestess we came back from the dawning!
Scheme | AAAA BBCC AAAA AADD BBDD AADD DDEE FFDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11010111110 10110110010 1101110111110 100100110110 110101111111 101100110111 111110110010 101100110010 111111111010 101110110010 101100111010 110110111110 110111111010 101110110110 111100110010 101110111110 110111110111 100110110011 10111111110 101110110010 111111110110 10101111010 1101110110110 110110110010 111011011010 1011101110010 1101110110010 111011111010 110101110110 1101010110010 100110110010 100101111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,650 |
Words | 327 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 40 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 160 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:38 min read
- 107 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The First Chantey" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33432/the-first-chantey>.
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