Analysis of The Widower

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



For a season there must be pain--
                  For a little, little space
                  I shall lose the sight of her face,
                  Take back the old life again
                  While She is at rest in her place.   

For a season this pain must endure,
                  For a little, little while
                  I shall sigh more often than smile
                  Till time shall work me a cure,
                  And the pitiful days beguile.

For that season we must be apart,
                  For a little length of years,
                  Till my life's last hour nears,
                  And, above the beat of my heart,
                  I hear Her voice in my ears.

But I shall not understand--
                  Being set on some later love,
                  Shall not know her for whom I strove,
                  Till she reach me forth her hand,
                  Saying, "Who but I have the right?"
                  And out of a troubled night
                  Shall draw me safe to the land.


Scheme XAAXA BCCBC DEEDE FXXFGGF
Poetic Form
Metre 10101111 1010101 11101101 1101101 11111001 101011101 1010101 11111011 1111101 00100101 111011101 1010111 1111101 00101111 1101011 111101 10111101 11101111 1111101 10111101 0110101 1111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,074
Words 147
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 7
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 134
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 31, 2023

44 sec read
145

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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