Analysis of Late Came the God

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



Late came the God, having sent his forerunners who were
not regarded--
Late, but in wrath;
Saying: "The wrong shall be paid, the contempt be rewarded
On all that she hath."
He poisoned the blade and struck home, the full bosom receiving
The wound and the venom in one, past cure or relieving.
He made treaty with Time to stand still that the grief might
be fresh--
Daily renewed and nightly pursued through her soul to her
flesh--
Mornings of memory, noontides of agony, midnights unslaked
for her,
Till the stones of the streets of her Hells and her Paradise ached
for her.

So she lived while her body corrupted upon her.
And she called on the Night for a sign, and a Sign was allowed,
And she builded an Altar and served by the light of her Vision--
Alone, without hope of regard or reward, but uncowed,
Resolute, selfless, divine.
These things she did in Love's honour...
What is a God beside Woman? Dust and derision!


Scheme abcxcddxeaebAxA axfbxaf
Poetic Form
Metre 110110111010 1010 1101 10011110011010 11111 110010110110010 01001001111010 1110111111011 11 10010100110110 1 1011001110011 10 10110110100101 10 1111010010010 011101101001101 011110011011010 0101110110111 101001 1111011 1101011010010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 908
Words 170
Sentences 9
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 15, 7
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 359
Words per stanza (avg) 84
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

51 sec read
124

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist chiefly remembered for his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and his tales for children. more…

All Rudyard Kipling poems | Rudyard Kipling Books

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