The Two-Sided Man
Much I owe to the Land that grew--More to the Life that fed--But most to Allah Who gave me twoSeparate sides to my head.
Much I reflect on the Good and the TrueIn the Faiths beneath the sun,But most upon Allah Who gave me twoSides to my head, not one.
Wesley's following, Calvin's flock,White or yellow or bronze,Shaman, Ju-ju or Angekok,Minister, Mukamuk, Bonze--
Here is a health, my brothers, to you,However your prayers are said,And praised be Allah Who gave me twoSeparate sides to my head!
I would go without shirt or shoe,Friend, tobacco or bread,Sooner than lose for a minute the twoSeparate sides of my head!
Words in this poem
- allah n.
- The name of the Supreme Being, in use among the Arabs and the Mohammedans generally. [contr. fr. the article al the + ilah God.]
- shaman n.
- A priest of Shamanism; a wizard among the Shamanists. [From the native name.]
- bonze n.
- A Buddhist or Fohist priest, monk, or nun. [Pg. bonzo, fr. Japan bozu a Buddhist priest: cf. F. bonze.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Two-Sided Man 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 Two-Sided Man, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/the-two-sided-man.html, id L20370.
Form and metre
The Two-Sided Man is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is dactylic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in dactylic 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 ABAB grewA · fedB · twoA · headB
- 2 ABAB trueA · sunB · twoA · oneB
- 3 ABAB flockA · bronzeB · angekokA · bonzeB
- 4 ABAB youA · saidB · twoA · headB
- 5 ABAB shoeA · breadB · twoA · headB
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 dactylic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Much I owe to the Land that grew-- | 8 | ········ |
| More to the Life that fed-- | 6 | ······ |
| But most to Allah Who gave me two | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Separate sides to my head. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Much I reflect on the Good and the True | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| In the Faiths beneath the sun, | 7 | ······· |
| But most upon Allah Who gave me two | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Sides to my head, not one. | 6 | ······ |
| Wesley's following, Calvin's flock, | 8 | /˘/˘˘/˘· |
| White or yellow or bronze, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Shaman, Ju-ju or Angekok, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Minister, Mukamuk, Bonze-- | 8 | /˘˘···/˘ |
| Here is a health, my brothers, to you, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| However your prayers are said, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And praised be Allah Who gave me two | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Separate sides to my head! | 7 | /˘····· |
| I would go without shirt or shoe, | 8 | ········ |
| Friend, tobacco or bread, | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| Sooner than lose for a minute the two | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| Separate sides of my head! | 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.