Analysis of Pagett, M.P.
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
The toad beneath the harrow knows
Exactly where eath tooth-point goes.
The butterfly upon the road
Preaches contentment to that toad.
Pagett, M.P., was a liar, and a fluent liar therewith --
He spoke of the heat of India as the "Asian Solar Myth";
Came on a four months' visit, to "study the East," in November,
And I got him to sign an agreement vowing to stay till September.
March came in with the koil. Pagett was cool and gay,
Called me a "bloated Brahmin," talked of my "princely pay."
March went out with the roses. "Where is your heat?" said he.
"Coming," said I to Pagett, "Skittles!" said Pagett, M.P.
April began with the punkah, coolies, and prickly-heat, --
Pagett was dear to mosquitoes, sandflies found him a treat.
He grew speckled and mumpy-hammered, I grieve to say,
Aryan brothers who fanned him, in an illiberal way.
May set in with a dust-storm, -- Pagett went down with the sun.
All the delights of the season tickled him one by one.
Imprimis -- ten day's "liver" -- due to his drinking beer;
Later, a dose of fever --slight, but he called it severe.
Dysent'ry touched him in June, after the Chota Bursat --
Lowered his portly person -- made him yearn to depart.
He didn't call me a "Brahmin," or "bloated," or "overpaid,"
But seemed to think it a wonder that any one stayed.
July was a trifle unhealthy, -- Pagett was ill with fear.
'Called it the "Cholera Morbus," hinted that life was dear.
He babbled of "Eastern Exile," and mentioned his home with tears;
But I haven't seen my children for close upon seven years.
We reached a hundred and twenty once in the Court at noon,
(I've mentioned Pagett was portly) Pagett, went off in a swoon.
That was an end to the business; Pagett, the perjured, fled
With a practical, working knowledge of "Solar Myths" in his head.
And I laughed as I drove from the station, but the mirth died out on my lips
As I thought of the fools like Pagett who write of their "Eastern trips,"
And the sneers of the traveled idiots who duly misgovern the land,
And I prayed to the Lord to deliver another one into my hand.
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEXX FFEE GGHH BXII HHXX JJKK LLMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (78%) |
Metre | 01010101 01011111 0100101 10010111 10110100010101 1110111001010101 1101110110010010 011111101010111010 110101101101 1101010111101 1111010111111 1011110101101 100110110101 1011101011101 111001101111 100101110111 11010111011101 10011010101111 0101110111101 10011101111101 1110110011 1011010111101 110110101101101 1111101011011 11010010101111 1101001101111 11011010101111 111011101101101 11010010100111 110101101011001 11111010100101 1010010101101011 011111101010111111 1111011101111101 0011010100110101 011101101001010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 2,042 |
Words | 395 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 43 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 174 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 1:56 min read
- 297 Views
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"Pagett, M.P." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33304/pagett%2C-m.p.>.
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