Analysis of The Irish Guards
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
We're not so old in the Army List,
But we're not so young at our trade,
For we had the honour at Fontenoy
Of meeting the Guards' Brigade.
'Twas Lally, Dillon, Bulkeley, Clare,
And Lee that led us then,
And after a hundred and seventy years
We're fighting for France again!
Old Days! The wild geese are flighting,
Head to fhe sform as they faced if before !
For where there are Irish there's bound to be fighting,
And when there's no fighting, it's Ireland no more!
Ireland no more!
The fashion's all for khaki now,
But once through France we went
Full-dressed in scarlet Army cloth,
The English-left at Ghent.
They're fighting on our side to-day
But, before they changed their clothes,
The half of Europe knew our fame,
As all of Ireland knows!
Old Days! The wild geese are flying,
Head to the sform as they faced it before!
For where there are Irish there's memory undying,
And when we forget, it is Ireland no more!
Ireland no more!
From Barry Wood to Gouzeaucourt,
From Boyne to Pilkem Ridge,
The ancient days come back no more
Than water under the bridge.
But the bridge it stands and the water runs
As red as yesterday,
And the Irish move to the sound of the guns
Like salmon to the sea.
Old Days! The wild geese are ranging,
Head to fhe storm as they faced it before!
For where there are Irish their hearts are unchanging,
And when they are changed, it is Ireland no more!
Ireland no more!
We're not so old in the Army List,
But we're not so new in the ring,
For we carried our packs with Marshal Saxe
When Louis was our King.
But Douglas Haig's our Marshal now
And we're King George's men,
And after one hundred and seventy years
We're fighting for France again!
Ah, France! And did we stand by you,
When life was made splendid with gifts and rewards?
Ah, France! And will we deny you
In the hour of your agony, Mother of Swords?
Old Days! The wild geese are flighing,
Head to the storm as they faced it before!
For where there are Irish there's loving and fighting
And when we stop either, it's Ireland no more!
Ireland no more!
Scheme | AbcbxcdCefefF cgxghxxxefefF aifijhjxefefF AexeccdCklklefefF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111100101 111111101 1110111 1100101 110101001 011111 01001001001 1101101 1101111 1111111101 111110111110 011110110011 10011 01011101 111111 11010101 010111 110110111 1011111 011101101 1111001 11011110 1101111101 1111101100010 011011110011 10011 110111 11111 01011111 1101001 1011100101 11110 00101101101 110101 11011110 1111111101 111110111010 011111110011 10011 111100101 11111001 11101011101 1101101 110110101 011101 01011001001 1101101 11011111 11111011001 11011011 0010111001011 1101111 1101111101 111110110010 011110110011 10011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,992 |
Words | 382 |
Sentences | 29 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 13, 13, 17 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 393 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 95 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 1:59 min read
- 218 Views
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"The Irish Guards" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33455/the-irish-guards>.
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