Kitchener’s School
Oh Hubshee, carry your shoes in your hand and bow your head on yourbreast!This is the message of Kitchener who did not break you in jest.It was permitted to him to fulfil the long-appointed years;Reaching the end ordained of old over your dead Emirs.
He stamped only before your walls, and the Tomb ye knew was dust:He gathered up under his armpits all the swords of your trust:He set a guard on your granaries, securing the weak from the strong:He said:--‘Go work the waterwheels that were abolished so long.’
He said:--‘Go safely, being abased. I have accomplished my vow.’That was the mercy of Kitchener. Cometh his madness now!He does not desire as ye desire, nor devise as ye devise:He is preparing a second host--an army to make you wise.
Not at the mouth of his clean-lipped guns shall ye learn his nameagain,But letter by letter, from Kaf to Kaf, at the mouth of his chosenmen.He has gone back to his own city, not seeking presents or bribes,But openly asking the English for money to buy you Hakims andscribes.
Knowing that ye are forfeit by battle and have no right to live,He begs for money to bring you learning--and all the English give.It is their treasure--it is their pleasure--thus are their heartsinclined:For Allah created the English mad--the maddest of all mankind!
They do not consider the Meaning of Things; they consult not creednor clan.Behold, they clap the slave on the back, and behold, he ariseth aman!They terribly carpet the earth with dead, and before their cannoncool,They walk unarmed by twos and threes to call the living to school.
How is this reason (which is their reason) to judge a scholar’sworth,By casting a ball at three straight sticks and defending the samewith a fourth?But this they do (which is doubtless a spell) and other matters morestrange,Until, by the operation of years, the hearts of their scholarschange:
Till these make come and go great boats or engines upon the rail(But always the English watch near by to prop them when they fail);Till these make laws of their own choice and Judges of their ownblood;And all the mad English obey the Judges and say that the Law is good.
Certainly they were mad from of old: but I think one new thing,That the magic whereby they work their magic--wherefrom theirfortunes spring--May be that they show all peoples their magic and ask no price inreturn.Wherefore, since ye are bond to that magic, O Hubshee, make haste andlearn!
Certainly also is Kitchener mad. But one sure thing I know--If he who broke you be minded to teach you, to his Madrissa go!Go, and carry your shoes in your hand and bow your head on yourbreast,For he who did not slay you in sport, he will not teach you injest.
Words in this poem
- kitchener n.
- A kitchen servant; a cook. Carlyle.
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- abased a.
- Lowered; humbled.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- allah n.
- The name of the Supreme Being, in use among the Arabs and the Mohammedans generally. [contr. fr. the article al the + ilah God.]
- consult n.
- The act of consulting or deliberating; consultation; also, the result of consulation; determination; decision.
- unarmed a.
- Not armed or armored; having no arms or weapons. [Pref. un- not + armed.]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Kitchener’s School is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Five Nations, Volume I, Project Gutenberg ebook #60260; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, Kitchener’s School, in The Five Nations, Volume I (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60260, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-five-nations-1/kitchener-s-school.html, id L20246.
Form and metre
Kitchener’s School is 58 lines in 10 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -AABB your · breastA · jestA · yearsB · emirsB
- 2 AABB dustA · trustA · strongB · longB
- 3 AABB vowA · nowA · deviseB · wiseB
- 4 -AAAB-B name · againA · chosenA · menA · bribesB · and · scribesB
- 5 AA-BB liveA · giveA · hearts · inclinedB · mankindB
- 6 -A-AABB creed · clanA · a · manA · cannonA · coolB · schoolB
- 7 A----BAB scholar'sA · worth · same · fourth · more · strangeB · scholarsA · changeB
- 8 AA-BB railA · failA · own · bloodB · goodB
- 9 A-ABB-B thingA · their · springA · inB · returnB · and · learnB
- 10 AA-B-B knowA · goA · your · breastB · in · jestB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Oh Hubshee, carry your shoes in your hand and bow your head on your | 16 | ···/˘··········· |
| breast! | 1 | · |
| This is the message of Kitchener who did not break you in jest. | 15 | ···/˘·/˘······· |
| It was permitted to him to fulfil the long-appointed years; | 16 | ··˘/˘·······˘/˘· |
| Reaching the end ordained of old over your dead Emirs. | 13 | /˘··˘/·····˘/ |
| He stamped only before your walls, and the Tomb ye knew was dust: | 15 | ··/˘··········· |
| He gathered up under his armpits all the swords of your trust: | 15 | ·/˘····/······· |
| He set a guard on your granaries, securing the weak from the strong: | 16 | ········˘/˘····· |
| He said:--‘Go work the waterwheels that were abolished so long.’ | 15 | ··········˘/˘·· |
| He said:--‘Go safely, being abased. I have accomplished my vow.’ | 15 | ···/˘/˘/··˘/˘·· |
| That was the mercy of Kitchener. Cometh his madness now! | 14 | ···/˘·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| He does not desire as ye desire, nor devise as ye devise: | 16 | ···˘/··˘/·˘/··˘/ |
| He is preparing a second host--an army to make you wise. | 16 | ··˘/˘·/˘··/˘···· |
| Not at the mouth of his clean-lipped guns shall ye learn his name | 14 | ·············· |
| again, | 2 | ˘/ |
| But letter by letter, from Kaf to Kaf, at the mouth of his chosen | 17 | ·/˘·/˘·········/˘ |
| men. | 1 | · |
| He has gone back to his own city, not seeking presents or bribes, | 16 | ·······/˘·/˘/˘·· |
| But openly asking the English for money to buy you Hakims and | 17 | ·/˘/˘·/˘·/˘···˘/· |
| scribes. | 1 | · |
| Knowing that ye are forfeit by battle and have no right to live, | 15 | /···/˘·/˘······ |
| He begs for money to bring you learning--and all the English give. | 16 | ···/˘···/˘···/˘· |
| It is their treasure--it is their pleasure--thus are their hearts | 14 | ···/˘···/˘···· |
| inclined: | 2 | ˘/ |
| For Allah created the English mad--the maddest of all mankind! | 17 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘··/˘··// |
| They do not consider the Meaning of Things; they consult not creed | 16 | ···˘/˘·/˘···˘/·· |
| nor clan. | 2 | ·· |
| Behold, they clap the slave on the back, and behold, he ariseth a | 17 | ˘/········˘/·˘/˘· |
| man! | 1 | · |
| They terribly carpet the earth with dead, and before their cannon | 15 | ·/˘/˘········/˘ |
| cool, | 1 | · |
| They walk unarmed by twos and threes to call the living to school. | 15 | ··˘/·······/˘·· |
| How is this reason (which is their reason) to judge a scholar’s | 15 | ···/˘···/˘···/˘ |
| worth, | 1 | · |
| By casting a ball at three straight sticks and defending the same | 15 | ·/˘·······˘/˘·· |
| with a fourth? | 3 | ··· |
| But this they do (which is doubtless a spell) and other matters more | 16 | ······/˘···/˘/˘· |
| strange, | 1 | · |
| Until, by the operation of years, the hearts of their scholars | 16 | ·····˘/˘······/˘ |
| change: | 1 | · |
| Till these make come and go great boats or engines upon the rail | 15 | ·········/˘···· |
| (But always the English watch near by to prop them when they fail); | 15 | ·/··/˘········· |
| Till these make laws of their own choice and Judges of their own | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| blood; | 1 | · |
| And all the mad English obey the Judges and say that the Law is good. | 18 | ····/˘˘/·/˘······· |
| Certainly they were mad from of old: but I think one new thing, | 14 | /˘············ |
| That the magic whereby they work their magic--wherefrom their | 15 | ··/˘·····/˘···· |
| fortunes spring-- | 3 | /˘· |
| May be that they show all peoples their magic and ask no price in | 16 | ······/˘·/˘····· |
| return. | 2 | ˘/ |
| Wherefore, since ye are bond to that magic, O Hubshee, make haste and | 16 | /˘······/˘······ |
| learn! | 1 | · |
| Certainly also is Kitchener mad. But one sure thing I know-- | 14 | /˘/˘·/˘······· |
| If he who broke you be minded to teach you, to his Madrissa go! | 17 | ······/˘········· |
| Go, and carry your shoes in your hand and bow your head on your | 15 | ··/˘··········· |
| breast, | 1 | · |
| For he who did not slay you in sport, he will not teach you in | 15 | ··············· |
| jest. | 1 | · |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.