The Queen's Men
Valour and InnocenceHave latterly gone henceTo certain death by certain shame attended.Envy--ah! even to tears!--The fortune of their yearsWhich, though so few, yet so divinely ended.
Scarce had they lifted upLife's full and fiery cup,Than they had set it down untouched before them.Before their day aroseThey beckoned it to close--Close in confusion and destruction o'er them.
They did not stay to askWhat prize should crown their task,Well sure that prize was such as no man strives for;But passed into eclipse,Her kiss upon their lips--Even Belphoebe's, whom they gave their lives for!
Words in this poem
- latterly adv.
- Lately; of late; recently; at a later, as distinguished from a former, period.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Queen's Men 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 Queen's Men, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/the-queen-s-men.html, id L20385.
Form and metre
The Queen's Men is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABCCB. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic 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 AABCCB innocenceA · henceA · attendedB · tearsC · yearsC · endedB
- 2 AABCCB upA · cupA · themB · aroseC · closeC · themB
- 3 AABCCB askA · taskA · forB · eclipseC · lipsC · forB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Valour and Innocence | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Have latterly gone hence | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| To certain death by certain shame attended. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Envy--ah! even to tears!-- | 6 | /˘·/·· |
| The fortune of their years | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Which, though so few, yet so divinely ended. | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| Scarce had they lifted up | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Life's full and fiery cup, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Than they had set it down untouched before them. | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Before their day arose | 6 | ····˘/ |
| They beckoned it to close-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Close in confusion and destruction o'er them. | 11 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘·· |
| They did not stay to ask | 6 | ······ |
| What prize should crown their task, | 6 | ······ |
| Well sure that prize was such as no man strives for; | 11 | ··········· |
| But passed into eclipse, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Her kiss upon their lips-- | 6 | ······ |
| Even Belphoebe's, whom they gave their lives for! | 9 | /········ |
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.