Analysis of The King's Job
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
The Tudor Monarchy
Once on a time was a King anxious to understand
What was the wisest thing a man could do for his land.
Most of his population hurried to answer the question,
Each with a long oration, each with a new suggestion.
They interrupted his meals--he wasn't safe in his bed from 'em--
They hung round his neck and heels, and at last His Majesty fled
from 'em.
He put on a leper's cloak (people leave lepers alone),
Out of the window he broke, and abdicated his throne.
All that rapturous day, while his Court and his ministers mourn
him,
He danced on his own highway till his own Policeman warned
him.
Gay and cheerful he ran (lepers don't cheer as a rule)
Till he found a philosopher-man teaching an infant-school.
The windows were open wide, the King sat down on the grass,
And heard the children inside reciting "Our King is an ass."
The King popped in his head: "Some people would call this
treason,
But I think you are right," he said; "Will you kindly give me your
reason?"
Lepers in school are as rare as kings with a leper's dress on,
But the class didn't stop or stare; it calmly went on with the
lesson:
"The wisest thing, we suppose, that a man can do for his land.
Is the work that lies under his nose, with the tools that lie under
his hand."
The King whipped off his cloak, and stood in his crown before
'em.
He said: "My dear little folk, Ex ore parvulorum--."
(Which is Latin for "Children know more than grown-ups would
credit")
You have shown me the road to go, and I propose to tread it."
Back to his Kingdom he ran, and issued a Proclamation,
"Let every living man return to his occupation!"
Then he explained to the mob who cheered in his palace and round it,
"I've been to look for a job, and Heaven be praised I've found it!"
Scheme | x aabbcxcddxExEffggxbhbxxbaxahccxxibbii |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010100 110110110101 1101010111111 11101010110010 11010101101010 101011110101111 111110101111001 11 1110111011001 1101011010011 111001111011001 1 1111111110101 1 1010111011101 111001001101101 01001010111101 0101001010101111 011011110111 10 111111111110111 10 10011111110111 101101111101110 10 010110110111111 1011110111011110 11 0111110101101 1 1111101111 1110110111111 10 111101110101111 11110110100010 11001010111010 1101101110110011 111110101011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,732 |
Words | 342 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 37 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 672 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 166 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 1:42 min read
- 110 Views
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