Analysis of Bill 'Awkins

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



"'As anybody seen Bill 'Awkins?"
    "Now 'ow in the devil would I know?"
"'E's taken my girl out walkin',
    An' I've got to tell 'im so --
       Gawd -- bless -- 'im!
    I've got to tell 'im so."

"D'yer know what 'e's like, Bill 'Awkins?"
    "Now what in the devil would I care?"
"'E's the livin', breathin' image of an organ-grinder's monkey,
    With a pound of grease in 'is 'air --
       Gawd -- bless -- 'im!
    An' a pound o' grease in 'is 'air."

"An' s'pose you met Bill 'Awkins,
    Now what in the devil 'ud ye do?"
"I'd open 'is cheek to 'is chin-strap buckle,
    An' bung up 'is both eyes, too --
       Gawd -- bless -- 'im!
    An' bung up 'is both eyes, too!"

"Look 'ere, where 'e comes, Bill 'Awkins!
    Now what in the devil will you say?"
"It isn't fit an' proper to be fightin' on a Sunday,
    So I'll pass 'im the time o' day --
       Gawd -- bless -- 'im!
    I'll pass 'im the time o' day!"


Scheme abbaCa adxdCd aexECE aaffCf
Poetic Form
Metre 11000111 110010111 1101111 1111111 111 111111 11111111 110010111 1011101110110 10111011 111 10111011 1111111 110010111 11011111110 1111111 111 1111111 1111111 110010111 1101110111101 11110111 111 1110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 914
Words 185
Sentences 16
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 138
Words per stanza (avg) 43
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 07, 2023

56 sec read
146

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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