The Heritage
Our Fathers in a wondrous age,Ere yet the earth was small,Ensured to us an heritage,And doubted not at allThat we, the children of their heart,Which then did beat so high,In later time should play like partFor our posterity.
A thousand years they steadfast built,To 'vantage us and ours,The Walls that were a world's despair,The sea-constraining Towers:Yet in their midmost pride they knew,And unto Kings made known,Not all from these their strength they drew,Their faith from brass or stone.
Youth's passion, manhood's fierce intent.With age's judgment wise,They spent, and counted not they spent.At daily sacrifice.Not lambs alone nor purchased dovesOr tithe of trader's gold--Their lives most dear, their dearer loves,They offered up of old.
Refraining e'en from lawful things.They bowed the neck to bearThe unadorned yoke that bringsStark toil and sternest care.Wherefore through them is Freedom sure;Wherefore through them we standFrom all but sloth and pride secure,In a delightsome land.
Then, fretful, murmur not they gaveSo great a charge to keep.Nor dream that awestruck Time shall saveTheir labour while we sleep.Dear-bought and clear, a thousand year,Our fathers' title runs.Make we likewise their sacrifice,Defrauding not our sons.
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- heritage a.
- That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir; inheritance. [OE. heritage, eritage, OF. heritage, eritage, F. héritage, fr. hériter to inherit, LL. heriditare. See Hereditable.]
- midmost a.
- Middle; middlemost. [OE. middemiste. Cf. Foremost.]
- stark adv.
- Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- delightsome a.
- Very pleasing; delightful.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Heritage 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, The Heritage, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/the-heritage.html, id L20344.
Form and metre
The Heritage is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 ABABC-C- ageA · smallB · heritageA · allB · heartC · high · partC · posterity
- 2 -A-ABCBC built · oursA · despair · towersA · knewB · knownC · drewB · stoneC
- 3 A-A-BCBC intentA · wise · spentA · sacrifice · dovesB · goldC · lovesB · oldC
- 4 ABABCDCD thingsA · bearB · bringsA · careB · sureC · standD · secureC · landD
- 5 ABAB-C-C gaveA · keepB · saveA · sleepB · year · runsC · sacrifice · sonsC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Our Fathers in a wondrous age, | 8 | //˘··/˘· |
| Ere yet the earth was small, | 6 | ······ |
| Ensured to us an heritage, | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| And doubted not at all | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That we, the children of their heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which then did beat so high, | 6 | ······ |
| In later time should play like part | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For our posterity. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| A thousand years they steadfast built, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| To 'vantage us and ours, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The Walls that were a world's despair, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The sea-constraining Towers: | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Yet in their midmost pride they knew, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And unto Kings made known, | 6 | ······ |
| Not all from these their strength they drew, | 8 | ········ |
| Their faith from brass or stone. | 6 | ······ |
| Youth's passion, manhood's fierce intent. | 8 | ·/˘/··˘/ |
| With age's judgment wise, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| They spent, and counted not they spent. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| At daily sacrifice. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Not lambs alone nor purchased doves | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Or tithe of trader's gold-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Their lives most dear, their dearer loves, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They offered up of old. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Refraining e'en from lawful things. | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| They bowed the neck to bear | 6 | ······ |
| The unadorned yoke that brings | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Stark toil and sternest care. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Wherefore through them is Freedom sure; | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Wherefore through them we stand | 6 | /˘···· |
| From all but sloth and pride secure, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| In a delightsome land. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Then, fretful, murmur not they gave | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| So great a charge to keep. | 6 | ······ |
| Nor dream that awestruck Time shall save | 8 | ···/···· |
| Their labour while we sleep. | 6 | ·/···· |
| Dear-bought and clear, a thousand year, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Our fathers' title runs. | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| Make we likewise their sacrifice, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Defrauding not our sons. | 7 | ˘/˘·/˘· |
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.