Analysis of A Cow and A Goat
Allama Muhammad Iqbal 1877 (Sialkot, Punjab) – 1938 (Lahore, Punjab)
There was a verdant pasture somewhere
Whose land was the very picture of beauty
How can the beauty of that elegance be described
Brooks of sparkling water were running on every side
Many were the pomegranate trees
And so were the shady peepul trees
Cool breeze flowed everywhere
Birds were singing everywhere
A goat arrived at a brook's bank from somewhere
It came browsing from somewhere in the nearby land
As she stopped and looked around
She noticed a cow standing by
The goat first presented her compliments to the cow
Then respectfully started this conversation
'How are you! Madam Cow'?
The cow replied, 'Not too well
'My life is a mere existence
My life is a complete agony
My life is in danger, what can I say?
My luck is bad, what can I say?
I am surprised at the state of affairs
I am cursing the evil people
The poor ones like us are powerless
Misfortunes surround the ones like us
None should nicely deal with Man
May God protect us from Man!
He murmurs if my milk declines
He sells me if my weight declines
He subdues us with cleverness!
Alluring, he always subjugates us!
I nurse his children with milk
I give them new life with milk
My goodness is repaid with evil
My prayer to God is for mercy! '
Having heard the cow's story like this
The goat replied, 'This complaint is unjust
Though truth is always bitter
I shall speak what is fair
This pasture, and this cool breeze
This green grass and this shade
Such comforts, were beyond our lot!
They were a far cry for us speechless poor!
We owe these pleasures to Man
We owe all our happiness to Man
We derive all our prosperity from him
What is better for us, freedom or bondage to him?
Hundreds of dangers lurk in the wilderness
May God protect us from the wilderness!
We are heavily indebted to him
Unjust is our complaint against him
If you appreciate the life's comforts
You would never complain against Man'
Hearing all this the cow felt embarrassed
She was sorry for complaining against Man
She mused over the good and the bad
And thoughtfully she said this
'Small though is the body of the goat
Convincing is the advice of the goat! '
| Scheme | AB XX CC AA AX XX DX DX XB EE XF GG HH II GG JJ FB KL XA CX XX HH MM GG MM XH LH XK NN |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 11010101 11101010110 1101011100101 11101001011001 10000101 01001011 11110 101010 0101101111 11101100111 1110101 11001101 0110100100101 10100101010 111101 0101111 11101010 111001100 1110101111 11111111 1101101101 111001010 011111100 010010111 1110111 1101111 11011101 11111101 1111100 0101111 1111011 1111111 110101110 11111110 101011011 0101101101 111110 111111 1100111 111011 110001101 1001111101 1111011 1111010011 101110010011 1110111011011 10110100100 1101110100 1110001011 0111001011 110100110 111001011 1011011010 11101010011 111001001 0100111 111010101 0101001101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 2,065 |
| Words | 390 |
| Sentences | 14 |
| Stanzas | 29 |
| Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
| Lines Amount | 58 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
| Words per line (avg) | 7 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 58 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 13 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 1:57 min read
- 208 Views
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"A Cow and A Goat" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1553/a-cow-and-a-goat>.
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