South Africa
Lived a woman wonderful,(May the Lord amend her!)Neither simple, kind, nor true,But her Pagan beauty drewChristian gentlemen a fewHotly to attend her.
Christian gentlemen a fewFrom Berwick unto Dover;For she was South Africa,And she was South Africa,She was our South Africa,Africa all over!
Half her land was dead with drouth,Half was red with battle;She was fenced with fire and sword,Plague on pestilence outpoured,Locusts on the greening swardAnd murrain on the cattle!
True, ah true, and overtrue;That is why we love her!For she is South Africa,And she is South Africa,She is our South Africa,Africa all over!
Bitter hard her lovers toiled,Scandalous their payment,--Food forgot on trains derailed;Cattle-dung where fuel failed;Water where the mules had staled;And sackcloth for their raiment!
So she filled their mouths with dustAnd their bones with fever;Greeted them with cruel lies;Treated them despiteful-wise;Meted them calamitiesTill they vowed to leave her.
They took ship and they took sail,Raging, from her borders,--In a little, none the less,They forgat their sore duresse,They forgave her waywardnessAnd returned for orders!
They esteemed her favour moreThan a Throne’s foundation.For the glory of her faceBade farewell to breed and race--Yea, and made their burial-placeAltar of a Nation!
Wherefore, being bought by blood,And by blood restorèdTo the arms that nearly lost,She, because of all she cost,Stands, a very woman, mostPerfect and adorèd!
On your feet, and let them knowThis is why we love her!For she is South Africa,She is our South Africa,Is our own South Africa,Africa all over!
Words in this poem
- hotly adv.
- In a hot or fiery manner; ardently; vehemently; violently; hastily; as, a hotly pursued. [From Hot, a.]
- greening n.
- A greenish apple, of several varieties, among which the Rhode Island greening is the best known for its fine-grained acid flesh and its excellent keeping quality.
- scandalous a.
- Giving offense to the conscience or moral feelings; exciting reprobation; calling out condemnation. [Cf. F. scandaleux.]
- sackcloth n.
- Linen or cotton cloth such a sacks are made of; coarse cloth; anciently, a cloth or garment worn in mourning, distress, mortification, or penitence.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- burial n.
- A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
South Africa is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Five Nations, Volume II, Project Gutenberg ebook #60261; 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, South Africa, in The Five Nations, Volume II (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60261, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-five-nations-2/south-africa.html, id L20257.
Form and metre
South Africa is 60 lines in 10 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 -ABBBA wonderful · herA · trueB · drewB · fewB · herA
- 2 -ABBBA few · doverA · africaB · africaB · africaB · overA
- 3 -ABBBA drouth · battleA · swordB · outpouredB · swardB · cattleA
- 4 --AAA- overtrue · her · africaA · africaA · africaA · over
- 5 -ABBBA toiled · paymentA · derailedB · failedB · staledB · raimentA
- 6 --AAA- dust · fever · liesA · wiseA · calamitiesA · her
- 7 -ABBBA sail · bordersA · lessB · duresseB · waywardnessB · ordersA
- 8 -ABBBA more · foundationA · faceB · raceB · placeB · nationA
- 9 -ABB-A blood · restorèdA · lostB · costB · most · adorèdA
- 10 --AAA- know · her · africaA · africaA · africaA · over
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lived a woman wonderful, | 8 | ·˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| (May the Lord amend her!) | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Neither simple, kind, nor true, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| But her Pagan beauty drew | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Christian gentlemen a few | 7 | /˘/˘˘·· |
| Hotly to attend her. | 6 | /˘·˘/· |
| Christian gentlemen a few | 7 | /˘/˘˘·· |
| From Berwick unto Dover; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| For she was South Africa, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| And she was South Africa, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| She was our South Africa, | 8 | ··/˘·/˘˘ |
| Africa all over! | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| Half her land was dead with drouth, | 7 | ······· |
| Half was red with battle; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| She was fenced with fire and sword, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Plague on pestilence outpoured, | 8 | ··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Locusts on the greening sward | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| And murrain on the cattle! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| True, ah true, and overtrue; | 6 | ······ |
| That is why we love her! | 6 | ······ |
| For she is South Africa, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| And she is South Africa, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| She is our South Africa, | 8 | ··/˘·/˘˘ |
| Africa all over! | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| Bitter hard her lovers toiled, | 8 | /˘··/˘·˘ |
| Scandalous their payment,-- | 6 | /˘˘·/˘ |
| Food forgot on trains derailed; | 8 | ·˘/··˘/˘ |
| Cattle-dung where fuel failed; | 8 | /˘··/˘·˘ |
| Water where the mules had staled; | 8 | /˘·····˘ |
| And sackcloth for their raiment! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| So she filled their mouths with dust | 8 | ···˘···· |
| And their bones with fever; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Greeted them with cruel lies; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Treated them despiteful-wise; | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| Meted them calamities | 7 | /˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Till they vowed to leave her. | 7 | ···˘··· |
| They took ship and they took sail, | 7 | ······· |
| Raging, from her borders,-- | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| In a little, none the less, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| They forgat their sore duresse, | 7 | ······· |
| They forgave her waywardness | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And returned for orders! | 7 | ·˘/˘·/˘ |
| They esteemed her favour more | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘· |
| Than a Throne’s foundation. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| For the glory of her face | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Bade farewell to breed and race-- | 7 | ··/···· |
| Yea, and made their burial-place | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Altar of a Nation! | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Wherefore, being bought by blood, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| And by blood restorèd | 5 | ····· |
| To the arms that nearly lost, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| She, because of all she cost, | 7 | ······· |
| Stands, a very woman, most | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Perfect and adorèd! | 5 | ˘/··· |
| On your feet, and let them know | 7 | ······· |
| This is why we love her! | 6 | ······ |
| For she is South Africa, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| She is our South Africa, | 8 | ··/˘·/˘˘ |
| Is our own South Africa, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Africa all over! | 6 | /˘˘··· |
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.