The New Knighthood
Who gives him the Bath?'I,' said the wet,Rank Jungle-sweat,'I'll give him the Bath!'
Who'll sing the psalms?'We,' said the Palms.'Ere the hot wind becalms,We'll sing the psalms.'
Who lays on the sword?'I,' said the Sun,'Before he has done,I'll lay on the sword.'
Who fastens his belt?'I,' said Short-Rations,'I know all the fashionsOf tightening a belt!'
Who gives him his spur?'I,' said his Chief,Exacting and brief,'I'll give him the spur.'
Who'll shake his hand?'I,' said the Fever,'And I'm no deceiver,I'll shake his hand.'
Who brings him the wine?'I,' said Quinine,'It's a habit of mine.'I'll come with the wine.'
Who'll put him to proof?'I,' said All Earth,'Whatever he's worth,I'll put to the proof.'
Who'll choose him for Knight?'I,' said his Mother,'Before any other,My very own Knight.'
And after this fashion, adventure to seek,Was Sir Galahad made--as it might be last week!
Words in this poem
- jungle n.
- A dense growth of brushwood, grasses, reeds, vines, etc.; an almost impenetrable thicket of trees, canes, and reedy vegetation, as in India, Africa, Australia, and Brazil. [Hind. jangal desert, forest, jungle; Skr. ja desert.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The New Knighthood 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 New Knighthood, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/the-new-knighthood.html, id L20312.
Form and metre
The New Knighthood is 38 lines in 10 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABBA, complete in 7 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
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 ABBA bathA · wetB · sweatB · bathA
- 2 AAAA psalmsA · palmsA · becalmsA · psalmsA
- 3 ABBA swordA · sunB · doneB · swordA
- 4 ABBA beltA · rationsB · fashionsB · beltA
- 5 ABBA spurA · chiefB · briefB · spurA
- 6 ABBA handA · feverB · deceiverB · handA
- 7 AAAA wineA · quinineA · mineA · wineA
- 8 ABBA proofA · earthB · worthB · proofA
- 9 ABBA knightA · motherB · otherB · knightA
- 10 AA seekA · weekA
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Who gives him the Bath? | 5 | ····· |
| 'I,' said the wet, | 4 | ···· |
| Rank Jungle-sweat, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| 'I'll give him the Bath!' | 5 | ····· |
| Who'll sing the psalms? | 4 | ···· |
| 'We,' said the Palms. | 4 | ···· |
| 'Ere the hot wind becalms, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| We'll sing the psalms.' | 4 | ···· |
| Who lays on the sword? | 5 | ····· |
| 'I,' said the Sun, | 4 | ···· |
| 'Before he has done, | 5 | ····· |
| I'll lay on the sword.' | 5 | ····· |
| Who fastens his belt? | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| 'I,' said Short-Rations, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| 'I know all the fashions | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Of tightening a belt!' | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Who gives him his spur? | 5 | ····· |
| 'I,' said his Chief, | 4 | ···· |
| Exacting and brief, | 5 | ˘/˘·· |
| 'I'll give him the spur.' | 5 | ····· |
| Who'll shake his hand? | 4 | ···· |
| 'I,' said the Fever, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| 'And I'm no deceiver, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| I'll shake his hand.' | 4 | ···· |
| Who brings him the wine? | 5 | ····· |
| 'I,' said Quinine, | 4 | ··/· |
| 'It's a habit of mine. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| 'I'll come with the wine.' | 5 | ····· |
| Who'll put him to proof? | 5 | ····· |
| 'I,' said All Earth, | 4 | ···· |
| 'Whatever he's worth, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| I'll put to the proof.' | 5 | ····· |
| Who'll choose him for Knight? | 5 | ····· |
| 'I,' said his Mother, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| 'Before any other, | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| My very own Knight.' | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And after this fashion, adventure to seek, | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| Was Sir Galahad made--as it might be last week! | 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.