Analysis of A Charm

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



Take of English earth as much
As either hand may rightly clutch.
In the taking of it breathe
Prayer for all who lie beneath.
Not the great nor well-bespoke,
But the mere uncounted folk
Of whose life and death is none
Report or lamentation.
Lay that earth upon thy heart,
And thy sickness shall depart!

It shall sweeten and make whole
Fevered breath and festered soul.
It shall mightily restrain
Over-busied hand and brain.
It shall ease thy mortal strife
'Gainst the immortal woe of life,
Till thyself, restored, shall prove
By what grace the Heavens do move.

Take of English flowers these --
Spring's full-vaced primroses,
Summer's wild wide-hearted rose,
Autumn's wall-flowerr of the close,
And, thy darkness to illume,
Winter's bee-thronged ivy-bloom.
Seek and serve them where they bide
From Candlemas to Christmas-tide,
For these simples, used aright,
Can restore a failing sight.

These shall cleanse and purify
Webbed and inward-turning eye;
These shall show thee treasure hid,
Thy familiar fields amid;
And reveal (which is thy need)
Every man a King indeed!


Scheme AAXXBBCCDD EEFFGGHH XXXXIIJJDX KKLLMM
Poetic Form
Metre 1110111 11011101 0010111 1111101 101111 101101 1110111 0111 1110111 0110101 1110011 1010101 1110001 1010101 1111101 10010111 110111 11101011 1110101 11110 1011101 1011101 011011 1011101 1011111 111101 11111 1010101 111010 1010101 1111101 1010101 0011111 10010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,040
Words 177
Sentences 11
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 10, 8, 10, 6
Lines Amount 34
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 212
Words per stanza (avg) 44
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

54 sec read
249

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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    A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using "like" or "as" is called a _______.
    A personification
    B simile
    C hyperbole
    D metaphor