Analysis of The Shut-Eye Sentry
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Sez the Junior Orderly Sergeant
To the Senior Orderly Man:
"Our Orderly Orf'cer's ~hokee-mut~,
You 'elp 'im all you can.
For the wine was old and the night is cold,
An' the best we may go wrong,
So, 'fore 'e gits to the sentry-box,
You pass the word along."
So it was "Rounds! What Rounds?" at two of a frosty night,
'E's 'oldin' on by the sergeant's sash, but, sentry, shut your eye.
An' it was "Pass! All's well!" Oh, ain't 'e drippin' tight!
'E'll need an affidavit pretty badly by-an'-by.
The moon was white on the barricks,
The road was white an' wide,
An' the Orderly Orf'cer took it all,
An' the ten-foot ditch beside.
An' the corporal pulled an' the sergeant pushed,
An' the three they danced along,
But I'd shut my eyes in the sentry-box,
So I didn't see nothin' wrong.
Though it was "Rounds! What Rounds?" O corporal, 'old 'im up!
'E's usin' 'is cap as it shouldn't be used, but, sentry, shut your eye.
An' it was "Pass! All's well!" Ho, shun the foamin' cup!
'E'll need, etc.
'Twas after four in the mornin';
We 'ad to stop the fun,
An' we sent 'im 'ome on a bullock-cart,
With 'is belt an' stock undone;
But we sluiced 'im down an' we washed 'im out,
An' a first-class job we made,
When we saved 'im, smart as a bombardier,
For six-o'clock parade.
It 'ad been "Rounds! What Rounds?" Oh, shove 'im straight again!
'E's usin' 'is sword for a bicycle, but, sentry, shut your eye.
An' it was "Pass! All's well!" 'E's called me "Darlin' Jane"!
'E'll need, etc.
The drill was long an' 'eavy,
The sky was 'ot an' blue,
An' 'is eye was wild an' 'is 'air was wet,
But 'is sergeant pulled 'im through.
Our men was good old trusties --
They'd done it on their 'ead;
But you ought to 'ave 'eard 'em markin' time
To 'ide the things 'e said!
For it was "Right flank -- wheel!" for "'Alt, an' stand at ease!"
An' "Left extend!" for "Centre close!" O marker, shut your eye!
An' it was, "'Ere, sir, 'ere! before the Colonel sees!"
So he needed affidavits pretty badly by-an'-by.
There was two-an'-thirty sergeants,
There was corp'rals forty-one,
There was just nine 'undred rank an' file
To swear to a touch o' sun.
There was me 'e'd kissed in the sentry-box,
As I 'ave not told in my song,
But I took my oath, which were Bible truth,
I 'adn't seen nothin' wrong.
There's them that's 'ot an' 'aughty,
There's them that's cold an' 'ard,
But there comes a night when the best gets tight,
And then turns out the Guard.
I've seen them 'ide their liquor
In every kind o' way,
But most depends on makin' friends
With Privit Thomas A.!
When it is "Rounds! What Rounds?" 'E's breathin' through 'is nose.
'E's reelin', rollin', roarin' tight, but, sentry, shut your eye.
An' it is "Pass! All's well!" An' that's the way it goes:
We'll 'elp 'im for 'is mother, an' 'e'll 'elp us by-an'-by!
Scheme | ababxcdc efef dgxgxcdc hfhI bjxjxkxk xfxI xlxldaxx mfmf xjxjdcxc anenxxxi ofof |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101010010 10101001 10100111 111111 1011100111 1011111 111110101 110101 1111111110101 1111011110111 11111111111 1110101010111 0111101 011111 101001111 1011101 10100110101 1011101 1111100101 11101101 1111111100111 1111111011110111 11111111011 11100 1101001 111101 1111110101 1111101 1111111111 1011111 111111001 110101 111111111101 111110100110111 111111111101 11100 011111 011111 1111111111 1110111 1011111 111111 1111111101 110111 111111111111 11011101110111 111111010101 11100101010111 11111010 111101 11111111 1110111 1111100101 11111011 1111110101 111101 111111 111111 1110110111 011101 1111110 0100111 11011101 11100 11111111111 111011110111 111111110111 11111101111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,875 |
Words | 532 |
Sentences | 50 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 68 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 178 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 06, 2023
- 2:46 min read
- 182 Views
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"The Shut-Eye Sentry" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33564/the-shut-eye-sentry>.
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