The Wishing Caps
Life's all getting and giving.I've only myself to give.What shall I do for a living?I've only one life to live.End it? I'll not find another.Spend it? But how shall I best?Sure the wise plan is to live like a manAnd Luck may look after the rest!Largesse! Largesse, Fortune!Give or hold at your will.If I've no care for Fortune,Fortune must follow me still.
Bad Luck, she is never a lady,But the commonest wench on the street,Shuffling, shabby and shady,Shameless to pass or meet.Walk with her once--it's a weakness!Talk to her twice--it's a crime!Thrust her away when she gives you 'good day,'And the besom won't board you next time.Largesse! Largesse, Fortune!What is Your Ladyship's mood?If I've no care for Fortune,My Fortune is bound to be good!
Good Luck, she is never a lady,But the cursedest quean alive!Tricksey, wincing and jady,Kittle to lead or drive.Greet her--she's hailing a stranger!Meet her--she's busking to leave.Let her alone for a shrew to the bone,And the hussy comes plucking your sleeve!Largesse! Largesse, Fortune!I'll neither follow nor flee.If I don't run after Fortune,Fortune must run after me!
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- largesse n.
- Liberality; generosity; bounty. [F. largesse, fr. large. See Large, a.]
- shabby a.
- Torn or worn to rage; poor; mean; ragged. [See Shab, n., Scabby, and Scab.]
- besom n.
- A brush of twigs for sweeping; a broom; anything which sweeps away or destroys. [OE. besme, besum, AS. besma; akin to D. bezem, OHG pesamo, G. besen; of uncertain origin.]
- quean n.
- A woman; a young or unmarried woman; a girl. [Originally, a woman, AS. cwene; akin to OS. quena, OHG. quena, Icel. kona, Goth qin, and AS. cwén, also to Gr. gna goddess. Cf. Queen.]
- wincing n.
- The act of washing cloth, dipping it in dye, etc., with a wince. Wincing machine. (a) A wince. Ure. (b) A succession of winces.
- kittle v. i.
- To bring forth young, as a cat; to kitten; to litter. [Prov. [Cf. Kit a kitten.]
- hussy n.
- A housewife or housekeeper. [Contr. fr. huswife.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Wishing Caps 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 Wishing Caps, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/the-wishing-caps.html, id L20391.
Form and metre
The Wishing Caps is 36 lines in 3 stanzas of 12 lines each.
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-CDCDEDE givingA · giveB · livingA · liveB · another · bestC · manD · restC · fortuneD · willE · fortuneD · stillE
- 2 ABAB-C-CD-D- ladyA · streetB · shadyA · meetB · weakness · crimeC · day · timeC · fortuneD · mood · fortuneD · good
- 3 ABAB-CDCDEDE ladyA · aliveB · jadyA · driveB · stranger · leaveC · boneD · sleeveC · fortuneD · fleeE · fortuneD · meE
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Life's all getting and giving. | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| I've only myself to give. | 7 | ·/˘·/·· |
| What shall I do for a living? | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I've only one life to live. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| End it? I'll not find another. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Spend it? But how shall I best? | 7 | ······· |
| Sure the wise plan is to live like a man | 10 | ·········· |
| And Luck may look after the rest! | 8 | ········ |
| Largesse! Largesse, Fortune! | 6 | ˘/˘//˘ |
| Give or hold at your will. | 6 | ······ |
| If I've no care for Fortune, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Fortune must follow me still. | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Bad Luck, she is never a lady, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| But the commonest wench on the street, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Shuffling, shabby and shady, | 7 | /˘/˘·/˘ |
| Shameless to pass or meet. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Walk with her once--it's a weakness! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Talk to her twice--it's a crime! | 7 | ······· |
| Thrust her away when she gives you 'good day,' | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And the besom won't board you next time. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Largesse! Largesse, Fortune! | 6 | ˘/˘//˘ |
| What is Your Ladyship's mood? | 7 | ······· |
| If I've no care for Fortune, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| My Fortune is bound to be good! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Good Luck, she is never a lady, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| But the cursedest quean alive! | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Tricksey, wincing and jady, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Kittle to lead or drive. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Greet her--she's hailing a stranger! | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Meet her--she's busking to leave. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Let her alone for a shrew to the bone, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And the hussy comes plucking your sleeve! | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| Largesse! Largesse, Fortune! | 6 | ˘/˘//˘ |
| I'll neither follow nor flee. | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| If I don't run after Fortune, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Fortune must run after me! | 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.