Analysis of The Wishing-Caps
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
Life's all getting and giving,
I've only myself to give.
What shall I do for a living?
I've only one life to live.
End it? I'll not find another.
Spend it? But how shall I best?
Sure the wise plan is to live like a man
And Luck may look after the rest!
Largesse! Largesse, Fortune!
Give or hold at your will.
If I've no care for Fortune,
Fortune must follow me still.
Bad Luck, she is never a lady
But the commonest wench on the street,
Shuffling, shabby and shady,
Shameless to pass or meet.
Walk with her once--it's a weakness!
Talk to her twice. It's a crime!
Thrust her away when she gives you "good day"
And the besom won't board you next time.
Largesse! Largesse, Fortune!
What is Your Ladyship's mood?
If I have no care for Fortune,
My Fortune is bound to be good!
Good Luck she is never a lady
But the cursedest quean alive!
Tricksy, wincing and jady,
Kittle to lead or drive.
Greet her--she's hailing a stranger!
Meet her--she's busking to leave.
Let her alone for a shrew to the bone,
And the hussy comes plucking your sleeve!
Largesse! Largesse, Fortune!
I'll neither follow nor flee.
If I don't run after Fortune,
Fortune must run after me!
Scheme | axabcdxdEfef ghghxixiExex gbdbcjxjegeg |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110010 110111 11111010 1101111 11111010 1111111 1011111101 01111001 010110 111111 1111110 1011011 111110010 1011101 1010010 101111 11011010 1101101 1001111111 00111111 010110 11111 11111110 11011111 111110010 101101 11001 101111 10110010 101111 1001101101 001011011 010110 1101011 11111010 1011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,657 |
Words | 216 |
Sentences | 31 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 291 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 73 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 23, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 115 Views
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"The Wishing-Caps" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33612/the-wishing-caps>.
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