Analysis of A Rector's Memory
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
St. Andrews, 1923
The, Gods that are wiser than Learning
But kinder than Life have made sure
No mortal may boast in the morning
That even will find him secure.
With naught for fresh faith or new trial,
With little unsoiled or unsold,
Can the shadow go back on the dial,
Or a new world be given for the old?
But he knows not that time shall awaken,
As he knows not what tide shall lay bare,
The heart of a man to be taken --
Taken and changed unaware.
He shall see as he tenders his vows
The far, guarded City arise --
The power of the North 'twixt Her brows --
The steel of the North in Her eyes;
The sheer hosts of Heaven above --
The grey warlock Ocean beside;
And shall feel the full centuries move
To Her purpose and pride.
Though a stranger shall he understand,
As though it were old in his blood,
The lives that caught fire 'neath Her hand --
The fires that were tamed to Her mood.
And the roar of the wind shall refashion,
And the wind-driven torches recall,
The passing of Time and the passion
Of Youth over all!
And, by virtue of magic unspoken
(What need She should utter Her power?)
The frost at his heart shall be broken
And his spirit be changed in that hour --
Changed and renewed in that hour!
Scheme | X ABABCDCDEFEF GHGHXIXI JXJXEKEKELELL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11 011110110 11011111 110110010 11011101 111111110 1101101 101111010 1011110101 1111111010 111111111 011011110 100101 111111011 01101001 010101101 01101001 01111001 0111001 011011001 101001 10101101 11101011 011110101 010101101 00110111 00110101 010110010 11101 0110110010 111110010 011111110 0110110110 10010110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,186 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 12, 8, 13 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 233 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 59 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 125 Views
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"A Rector's Memory" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33129/a-rector%27s-memory>.
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