Analysis of The Men That Fought At Minden
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
A Song of Instruction
The men that fought at Minden, they was rookies in their time --
So was them that fought at Waterloo!
All the 'ole command, yuss, from Minden to Maiwand,
They was once dam' sweeps like you!
Then do not be discouraged, 'Eaven is your 'elper,
We'll learn you not to forget;
An' you mustn't swear an' curse, or you'll only catch it worse,
For we'll make you soldiers yet!
The men that fought at Minden, they 'ad stocks beneath their chins,
Six inch 'igh an' more;
But fatigue it was their pride, and they ~would~ not be denied
To clean the cook-'ouse floor.
The men that fought at Minden, they had anarchistic bombs
Served to 'em by name of 'and-grenades;
But they got it in the eye (same as you will by-an'-by)
When they clubbed their field-parades.
The men that fought at Minden, they 'ad buttons up an' down,
Two-an'-twenty dozen of 'em told;
But they didn't grouse an' shirk at an hour's extry work,
They kept 'em bright as gold.
The men that fought at Minden, they was armed with musketoons,
Also, they was drilled by 'alberdiers;
I don't know what they were, but the sergeants took good care
They washed be'ind their ears.
The men that fought at Minden, they 'ad ever cash in 'and
Which they did not bank nor save,
But spent it gay an' free on their betters -- such as me --
For the good advice I gave.
The men that fought at Minden, they was civil -- yuss, they was --
Never didn't talk o' rights an' wrongs,
But they got it with the toe (same as you will get it -- so!) --
For interrupting songs.
The men that fought at Minden, they was several other things
Which I don't remember clear;
But ~that's~ the reason why, now the six-year men are dry,
The rooks will stand the beer!
Then do not be discouraged, 'Eaven is your 'elper,
We'll learn you not to forget;
An' you mustn't swear an' curse, or you'll only catch it worse,
For we'll make you soldiers yet!
Soldiers yet, if you've got it in you --
All for the sake of the Core;
Soldiers yet, if we 'ave to skin you --
Run an' get the beer, Johnny Raw -- Johnny Raw!
Ho! run an' get the beer, Johnny Raw!
Scheme | x xaba CBDB dcbc xexe xbxb ddcx bfxf xgxg xccc CBDB acacc |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011010 01111101110011 11111110 10101111011 1111111 11110101111 1111101 11101111110111 1111101 01111101110111 11111 10111110111101 110111 01111101111 111111001 11110011111111 1111101 01111101110111 111010111 1110111111011 111111 011111011111 1011111 1111101010111 11111 01111101110100 1111111 1111111110111 1010111 01111101110111 101011111 11111011111111 10101 01111101110101 1110101 1101011011111 011101 11110101111 1111101 11101111110111 1111101 101111101 1101101 101111111 11101101101 111101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,142 |
Words | 400 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 129 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 2:05 min read
- 149 Views
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"The Men That Fought At Minden" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33497/the-men-that-fought-at-minden>.
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