Analysis of The Penalty
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Once in life I watched a Star;
But I whistled, "Let her go!
There are others, fairer far,
Which my favouring skies shall show
Here I lied, and herein I
Stood to pay the penalty.
Marvellous the Planets shone
As I ranged from coast to coast--
But beyond comparison
Rode the Star that I had lost.
I had lied, and only I
Did not guess the penalty! . . .
When my Heavens were turned to blood,
When the dark had filled my day,
Furthest, but most faithful, stood
That lone Star I cast away.
I had loved myself, and I
Have not lived and dare not die!
Scheme | ABABCD XXXXCD XEXECC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011101 1110101 1110101 111111 1110011 1110100 10101 1111111 1010100 1011111 1110101 1110100 11100111 1011111 1011101 1111101 111101 1110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 534 |
Words | 107 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 137 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 110 Views
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"The Penalty" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33520/the-penalty>.
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