'Rimini'
When I left home for Lalage's sakeBy the Legions' road to Rimini,She vowed her heart was mine to takeWith me and my shield to Rimini--(Till the Eagles flew from Rimini!)And I've tramped Britain, and I've tramped Gaul,And the Pontic shore where the snow-flakes fallAs white as the neck of Lalage--(As cold as the heart of Lalage!)And I've lost Britain, and I've lost Gaul,And I've lost Rome, and worst of all,I've lost Lalage!
When you go by the Via Aurelia,As thousands have travelled before,Remember the Luck of the SoldierWho never saw Rome any more!Oh dear was the sweetheart that kissed himAnd dear was the mother that bore,But his shield was picked up in the heather,And he never saw Rome any more!And he left Rome, etc.
When you go by the Via AureliaThat runs from the City to Gaul,Remember the Luck of the SoldierWho rose to be master of all!He carried the sword and the buckler,He mounted his guard on the Wall,Till the Legions elected him Caesar,And he rose to be master of all!
And he left Rome, etc.
It's twenty-five marches to Narbo,It's forty-five more up the Rhone,And the end may be death in the heatherOr life on an Emperor's throne.
But whether the Eagles obey us,Or we go to the Ravens--alone,I'd sooner be Lalage's loverThan sit on an Emperor's throne!
We've all left Rome for Lalage's sake, etc.
Words in this poem
- pontic a.
- Of or pertaining to the Pontus, Euxine, or Black Sea.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'Rimini' is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs from Books, Project Gutenberg ebook #15529; 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, 'Rimini', in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/rimini.html, id L20334.
Form and metre
'Rimini' is 39 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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 ABABBCCDDCCD sakeA · riminiB · takeA · riminiB · riminiB · gaulC · fallC · lalageD · lalageD · gaulC · allC · lalageD
- 2 -A-A-A-A- aurelia · beforeA · soldier · moreA · him · boreA · heather · moreA · etc
- 3 -A-A-A-A aurelia · gaulA · soldier · allA · buckler · wallA · caesar · allA
- 5 -A-A narbo · rhoneA · heather · throneA
- 6 -A-A us · aloneA · lover · throneA
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When I left home for Lalage's sake | 9 | ········· |
| By the Legions' road to Rimini, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| She vowed her heart was mine to take | 8 | ········ |
| With me and my shield to Rimini-- | 9 | ········· |
| (Till the Eagles flew from Rimini!) | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And I've tramped Britain, and I've tramped Gaul, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And the Pontic shore where the snow-flakes fall | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| As white as the neck of Lalage-- | 8 | ········ |
| (As cold as the heart of Lalage!) | 8 | ········ |
| And I've lost Britain, and I've lost Gaul, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And I've lost Rome, and worst of all, | 8 | ········ |
| I've lost Lalage! | 4 | ···· |
| When you go by the Via Aurelia, | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| As thousands have travelled before, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Remember the Luck of the Soldier | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| Who never saw Rome any more! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Oh dear was the sweetheart that kissed him | 9 | ····/···· |
| And dear was the mother that bore, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| But his shield was picked up in the heather, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| And he never saw Rome any more! | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| And he left Rome, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| When you go by the Via Aurelia | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| That runs from the City to Gaul, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Remember the Luck of the Soldier | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| Who rose to be master of all! | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| He carried the sword and the buckler, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| He mounted his guard on the Wall, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Till the Legions elected him Caesar, | 10 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| And he rose to be master of all! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And he left Rome, etc. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| It's twenty-five marches to Narbo, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| It's forty-five more up the Rhone, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And the end may be death in the heather | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Or life on an Emperor's throne. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| But whether the Eagles obey us, | 9 | ····/˘˘/· |
| Or we go to the Ravens--alone, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| I'd sooner be Lalage's lover | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Than sit on an Emperor's throne! | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| We've all left Rome for Lalage's sake, etc. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
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.