Analysis of Troopin'
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
(Our Army in the East)
Troopin', troopin', troopin' to the sea:
'Ere's September come again -- the six-year men are free.
O leave the dead be'ind us, for they cannot come away
To where the ship's a-coalin' up that takes us 'ome to-day.
We're goin' 'ome, we're goin' 'ome,
Our ship is at the shore,
An' you must pack your 'aversack,
For we won't come back no more.
Ho, don't you grieve for me,
My lovely Mary-Ann,
For I'll marry you yit on a fourp'ny bit
As a time-expired man.
The ~Malabar~'s in 'arbour with the ~Jumner~ at 'er tail,
An' the time-expired's waitin' of 'is orders for to sail.
Ho! the weary waitin' when on Khyber 'ills we lay,
But the time-expired's waitin' of 'is orders 'ome to-day.
They'll turn us out at Portsmouth wharf in cold an' wet an' rain,
All wearin' Injian cotton kit, but we will not complain;
They'll kill us of pneumonia -- for that's their little way --
But damn the chills and fever, men, we're goin' 'ome to-day!
Troopin', troopin', winter's round again!
See the new draf's pourin' in for the old campaign;
Ho, you poor recruities, but you've got to earn your pay --
What's the last from Lunnon, lads? We're goin' there to-day.
Troopin', troopin', give another cheer --
'Ere's to English women an' a quart of English beer.
The Colonel an' the regiment an' all who've got to stay,
Gawd's mercy strike 'em gentle -- Whoop! we're goin' 'ome to-day.
We're goin' 'ome, we're goin' 'ome,
Our ship is at the shore,
An' you must pack your 'aversack,
For we won't come back no more.
Ho, don't you grieve for me,
My lovely Mary-Ann,
For I'll marry you yit on a fourp'ny bit
As a time-expired man.
Scheme | x aabbCDEDAFGF hhbb iibb xibb jjbbCDEDAFGF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010001 111101 1010101011111 1101111110101 1101011111111 111111 1011101 111111 1111111 111111 110101 1110111011 101011 011010101101 101111110111 10101111111 101111110111 11111101011111 111101111101 1111010111101 1101010111111 1110101 10111010101 11111111111 10111111111 1110101 1110101011101 01010100110111 1101110111111 111111 1011101 111111 1111111 111111 110101 1110111011 101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,666 |
Words | 299 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 12, 4, 4, 4, 12 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 195 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 26, 2023
- 1:39 min read
- 102 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Troopin'" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33634/troopin%27>.
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