Analysis of A Preface
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
To all to whom this little book may come--
Health for yourselves and those you hold most dear!
Content abroad, and happiness at home,
And--one grand Secret in your private ear: --
Nations have passed away and left no traces,
And History gives the naked cause of it--
One single, simple reason in all cases;
They fell because their peoples were not fit.
Now, though your Body be mis-shapen, blind,
Lame, feverish, lacking substance, power or skill,
Certain it is that men can school the Mind
To school the sickliest Body, to her will--
As many have done, whose glory blazes still
Like mighty flames in meanest lanterns lit:
Wherefore, we pray the crippled, weak and ill--
Be fit--be fit! In mind at first be fit!
And, though your Spirit seem uncouth or small,
Stubborn as clay or shifting as the sand,
Strengthen the Body, and the Body shall
Strengthen the Spirit till she take command;
As a bold rider brings his horse in hand
At the tall fence, with voice and heel and bit,
And leaps while all the field are at a stand.
Be fit--be fit! In body next be fit!
Nothing on earth--no Arts, no Gifts, no Graces--
No Fame, no Wealth--outweighs the wont of it.
This is the Law which every law embraces--
Be fit--be fit! In mind and body be fit!
The even heart that seldom slurs its beat--
The cool head weighing what that heart desires--
The measuring eye that guides the hands and feet--
The Soul unbroken when the Body tires--
These are the things our weary world requires
Far more than superfluities of wit;
Wherefore we pray you, sons of generous sires,
Be fit--be fit! For Honour's sake be fit.
There is one lesson at all Times and Places--
One changeless Truth on all things changing writ,
For boys and girls, men, women, nations, races--
Be fit -- be fit! And once again, be fit!
Scheme | XXXXABAB CDCDDBDB XEXEEBEB FBFB GHGHHBXB ABAB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110111 1101011111 1001010011 0111001101 10110101110 01001010111 11010100110 1101110011 111101111 110010101011 1011111101 110110101 11011110101 1101010101 111010101 1111011111 0111011111 1011110101 1001000101 1001011101 1011011101 1011110101 0111011101 1111010111 10111111110 111110111 110111001010 11110101011 0101110111 01110111010 01001110101 01010101010 110110101010 111111 1111111001 111111111 11110111010 111111101 11011101010 1111010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,751 |
Words | 325 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 4, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 227 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 54 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 21, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 114 Views
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"A Preface" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33127/a-preface>.
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