Analysis of Ulster
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
("Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they
cover themselves with their works: their works are works
of inquity and the act of violence is in their hands." --
Isaiah lix. 6.)
The dark eleventh hour
Draws on and sees us sold
To every evil power
We fought against of old.
Rebellion, rapine hate
Oppression, wrong and greed
Are loosed to rule our fate,
By England's act and deed.
The Faith in which we stand,
The laws we made and guard,
Our honour, lives, and land
Are given for reward
To Murder done by night,
To Treason taught by day,
To folly, sloth, and spite,
And we are thrust away.
The blood our fathers spilt,
Our love, our toils, our pains,
Are counted us for guilt,
And only bind our chains.
Before an Empire's eyes
The traitor claims his price.
What need of further lies?
We are the sacrifice.
We asked no more than leave
To reap where we had sown,
Through good and ill to cleave
To our own flag and throne.
Now England's shot and steel
Beneath that flag must show
How loyal hearts should kneel
To England's oldest foe.
We know the war prepared
On every peaceful home,
We know the hells declared
For such as serve not Rome --
The terror, threats, and dread
In market, hearth, and field --
We know, when all is said,
We perish if we yield.
Believe, we dare not boast,
Believe, we do not fear --
We stand to pay the cost
In all that men hold dear.
What answer from the North?
One Law, one Land, one Throne.
If England drive us forth
We shall not fall alone!
Scheme | ABXB CDCDEFEF GXGXHAHA IJIJKLKL MNMNOPOP QRQRSTST XUXUVNVN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101101011 10011111111 1100111001011 101 0101010 110111 11001010 110111 01011 010101 1111101 110101 010111 011101 101101 110101 110111 110111 110101 011101 0110101 101101101 110111 0101101 0111001 010111 111101 11010 111111 111111 110111 1101101 110101 011111 110111 110101 110101 1100101 110101 111111 010101 010101 111111 110111 011111 011111 111101 011111 110101 111111 110111 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,435 |
Words | 284 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 162 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 421 Views
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"Ulster" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33637/ulster>.
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