Analysis of The Master-Cook
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
With us there rade a Maister-Cook that came
From the Rochelle which is neere Angouleme.
Littel hee was, but rounder than a topp,
And his small berd hadde dipped in manie a soppe,
His honde was smoother than beseemeth mann's,
And his discoorse was all of marzipans,
Of tripes of Caen, or Burdeux snailes swote,
And Seinte Menhoulde wher cooken pigges-foote.
To Thoulouse and to Bress and Carcasson
For pyes and fowles and chesnottes hadde hee wonne,
Of hammes of Thuringie colde hee prate,
And well hee knew what Princes hadde on plate
At Christmas-tide, from Artois to Gascogne.
Lordinges, quod hee, manne liveth nat alone
By bred, but meates rost and seethed, and broth,
And purchasable deinties, on mine othe.
Honey and hote gingere well liketh hee,
And whales-flesch mortred with spicerie.
For, lat be all how man denie or carpe,"
Him thries a daie his honger maketh sharpe,
And setteth him at boorde with hawkes eyne,
Snuffing what dish is set beforne to deyne,
Nor, till with meate he all--to fill to brim,
None other matter nowher mooveth him.
Lat holie Seintes sterve as bookes boast,
Most mannes soule is in his bellie most.
For, as man thinketh in his hearte is hee,
But, as hee eateth so his thought shall bee.
And Holie Fader's self (with reveraunce)
Oweth to Cooke his port and his presaunce.
Wherebye it cometh past disputison
Cookes over alle men have dominion,
Which follow them as schippe her gouvernail.
Enoff of wordes-beginneth heere my tale:--
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEDDE EFFGXBXEEHHDDGGCCEEII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101111 10011111 111110101 0111110101 11110111 0111111 11111111 0111111 1101101 1101001111 1111111 0111110111 110110111 11111101 111110101 011111 10011111 011111 111111111 11011111 01111111 101111111 1111111111 11010111 1111111 11110111 111101111 111111111 011111 11111011 111011 110111010 11011101 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,442 |
Words | 256 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 21 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 579 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 126 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 66 Views
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"The Master-Cook" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33496/the-master-cook>.
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