Analysis of The Juggler's Song
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
When the drums begin to beat
Down the street,
When the poles are fetched and guyed,
When the tight-rope's stretched and tied,
When the dance-girls make salaam,
When the snake-bag wakes alarm,
When the pipes set up their drone,
When the sharp-edged knives are thrown
When the red-hot coals are shown,
To be swallowed by-and-by--
Arre, Brethren, here come I!
Stripped to loin-cloth in the sun,
Search me well and watch me close!
Tell me how my tricks are done--
Tell me how the mango grows!
Give a man who is not made
To his trade
Swords to fling and catch again,
Coins to ring and snatch again,
Men to harm and cure again,
Snakes to charm and lure again--
He'll be hurt by his own blade,
By his serpents disobeyed,
By his clumsiness bewrayed,
By the people laughed to scorn--
So 'tis not with juggler born!
Pinch of dust or withered flower,
Chance-flung nut or borrowed staff,
Serve his need and shore his power,
Bind the spell or loose the laugh!
Scheme | AAAXXXBBBCC DXDX EEFFFFEEAGG HIHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (27%) |
Metre | 1010111 101 1011101 1011101 1011101 1011101 1011111 1011111 1011111 1110101 110111 1111001 1110111 1111111 1110101 1011111 111 1110101 1110101 1110101 1110101 1111111 111001 111001 1010111 11111001 11111010 111111 11101110 1011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 925 |
Words | 174 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 4, 11, 4 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 183 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 27, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 88 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Juggler's Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33458/the-juggler%27s-song>.
Discuss this Rudyard Kipling poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In