Laurel · Rudyard Kipling · Verses 1889–1896

The 'Eathen

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) · 1889–1896

alexandrines · AABB · 76 lines · from Verses 1889–1896

The 'eathen in 'is blindness bows down to wood an' stone;'E don't obey no orders unless they is 'is own;'E keeps 'is side-arms awful: 'e leaves 'em all about,An' then comes up the regiment an' pokes the 'eathen out.

All along o' dirtiness, all along o' mess,All along o' doin' things rather-more-or-less,All along of abby-nay, kul, an' hazar-ho,Mind you keep your rifle an' yourself jus' so!

The young recruit is 'aughty -- 'e draf's from Gawd knows where;They bid 'im show 'is stockin's an' lay 'is mattress square;'E calls it bloomin' nonsense -- 'e doesn't know no more --An' then up comes 'is Company an' kicks 'im round the floor!

The young recruit is 'ammered -- 'e takes it very 'ard;'E 'angs 'is 'ead an' mutters -- 'e sulks about the yard;'E talks o' “cruel tyrants” 'e'll swing for by-an'-by,An' the others 'ears an' mocks 'im, an' the boy goes orf to cry.

The young recruit is silly -- 'e thinks o' suicide;'E's lost 'is gutter-devil; 'e 'asn't got 'is pride;But day by day they kicks 'im, which 'elps 'im on a bit,Till 'e finds 'isself one mornin' with a full an' proper kit.

Gettin' clear o' dirtiness, gettin' done with mess,Gettin' shut o' doin' things rather-more-or-less;Not so fond of abby-nay, kul, nor hazar-ho,Learns to keep 'is rifle an' 'isself jus' so!

The young recruit is 'appy -- 'e throws a chest to suit;You see 'im grow mustaches; you 'ear 'im slap 'is boot;'E learns to drop the “bloodies” from every word 'e slings,An' 'e shows an 'ealthy brisket when 'e strips for bars an' rings.

The cruel-tyrant-sergeants they watch 'im 'arf a year;They watch 'im with 'is comrades, they watch 'im with 'is beer;They watch 'im with the women at the regimental dance,And the cruel-tyrant-sergeants send 'is name along for “Lance”.

An' now 'e's 'arf o' nothin', an' all a private yet,'Is room they up an' rags 'im to see what they will get;They rags 'im low an' cunnin', each dirty trick they can,But 'e learns to sweat 'is temper an' 'e learns to sweat 'is man.

An', last, a Colour-Sergeant, as such to be obeyed,'E schools 'is men at cricket, 'e tells 'em on parade;They sees 'em quick an' 'andy, uncommon set an' smart,An' so 'e talks to orficers which 'ave the Core at 'eart.

'E learns to do 'is watchin' without it showin' plain;'E learns to save a dummy, an' shove 'im straight again;'E learns to check a ranker that's buyin' leave to shirk;An' 'e learns to make men like 'im so they'll learn to like their work.

An' when it comes to marchin' he'll see their socks are right,An' when it comes to action 'e shows 'em 'ow to sight;'E knows their ways of thinkin' and just what's in their mind;'E knows when they are takin' on an' when they've fell be'ind.

'E knows each talkin' corpril that leads a squad astray;'E feels 'is innards 'eavin', 'is bowels givin' way;'E sees the blue-white faces all tryin' 'ard to grin,An' 'e stands an' waits an' suffers till it's time to cap 'em in.

An' now the hugly bullets come peckin' through the dust,An' no one wants to face 'em, but every beggar must;So, like a man in irons which isn't glad to go,They moves 'em off by companies uncommon stiff an' slow.

Of all 'is five years' schoolin' they don't remember muchExcep' the not retreatin', the step an' keepin' touch.It looks like teachin' wasted when they duck an' spread an' 'op,But if 'e 'adn't learned 'em they'd be all about the shop!

An' now it's “'Oo goes backward?” an' now it's “'Oo comes on?”And now it's “Get the doolies,” an' now the captain's gone;An' now it's bloody murder, but all the while they 'ear'Is voice, the same as barrick drill, a-shepherdin' the rear.

'E's just as sick as they are, 'is 'eart is like to split,But 'e works 'em, works 'em, works 'em till he feels 'em take the bit;The rest is 'oldin' steady till the watchful bugles play,An' 'e lifts 'em, lifts 'em, lifts 'em through the charge that wins the day!

The 'eathen in 'is blindness bows down to wood an' stone;'E don't obey no orders unless they is 'is own;The 'eathen in 'is blindness must end where 'e began,But the backbone of the Army is the non-commissioned man!

Keep away from dirtiness -- keep away from mess.Don't get into doin' things rather-more-or-less!Let's ha' done with abby-nay, kul, an' hazar-ho;Mind you keep your rifle an' yourself jus' so!

Words in this poem

dirtiness n.: The state of being dirty; filthiness; foulness; nastiness; baseness; sordidness.
recruit v. t.: To repair by fresh supplies, as anything wasted; to remedy lack or deficiency in; as, food recruits the flesh; fresh air and exercise recruit the spirits. [F. recruter, corrupted (under influence of recrue recruiting, recruit, from recro, p.p. recr, to grow again) from an older recluter, properly, to patch, to mend]
mattress n.: A quilted bed; a bed stuffed with hair, moss, or other suitable material, and quilted or otherwise fastened. [OF. materas, F. matelas, LL. matratium; cf. Sp. & Pg. almadraque, Pr. almatrac; all from Ar. matsrah a place where anything is thrown, what is thrown under some]
sulks n.: The condition of being sulky; a sulky mood or humor; as, to be in the sulks.
brisket n.: That part of the breast of an animal which extends from the fore legs back beneath the ribs; also applied to the fore part of a horse, from the shoulders to the bottom of the chest. [OE. bruskette, OF. bruschet, F. bréchet, brichet; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. brysced the breast of a slain animal, brisket, Corn. vrys breast, Armor. brusk,]
dummy a.: Silent; mute; noiseless; as a dummy engine. [See Dumb.]
ranker n.: One who ranks, or disposes in ranks; one who arranges.
squad n.: A small party of men assembled for drill, inspection, or other purposes. [F. escouade, fr. Sp. escuadra, or It. squadra, (assumed) LL. exquadrare to square; L. ex + quadra a square. See Square.]
grin n.: A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The 'Eathen is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verses 1889-1896, Project Gutenberg ebook #323; 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 'Eathen, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/the-eathen.html, id L16848.

Form and metre

The 'Eathen is 76 lines in 19 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is alexandrines, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.0 syllables.

See other poems in alexandrines.

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 AABB stone^A · own^A · about^B · out^B
2 AABB mess^A · less^A · ho^B · so^B
3 AABB where^A · square^A · more^B · floor^B
4 AABB ard^A · yard^A · by^B · cry^B
5 AABB suicide^A · pride^A · bit^B · kit^B
6 AABB mess^A · less^A · ho^B · so^B
7 AABB suit^A · boot^A · slings^B · rings^B
8 AABB year^A · beer^A · dance^B · lance^B
9 AABB yet^A · get^A · can^B · man^B
10 AABB obeyed^A · parade^A · smart^B · eart^B
11 AABB plain^A · again^A · shirk^B · work^B
12 AABB right^A · sight^A · mind^B · be'ind^B
13 AABB astray^A · way^A · grin^B · in^B
14 AABB dust^A · must^A · go^B · slow^B
15 AABB much^A · touch^A · op^B · shop^B
16 AABB on^A · gone^A · ear^B · rear^B
17 AABB split^A · bit^A · play^B · day^B
18 AABB stone^A · own^A · began^B · man^B
19 AABB mess^A · less^A · ho^B · so^B

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 alexandrines. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
The 'eathen in 'is blindness bows down to wood an' stone;	13	·····/˘······
'E don't obey no orders unless they is 'is own;	13	··˘/·/˘······
'E keeps 'is side-arms awful: 'e leaves 'em all about,	13	·····/˘······
An' then comes up the regiment an' pokes the 'eathen out.	13	·····/˘······
All along o' dirtiness, all along o' mess,	12	·˘/·/˘˘·˘/··
All along o' doin' things rather-more-or-less,	12	·˘/·/˘·/˘···
All along of abby-nay, kul, an' hazar-ho,	12	·˘/·/˘······
Mind you keep your rifle an' yourself jus' so!	11	····/˘·˘/··
The young recruit is 'aughty -- 'e draf's from Gawd knows where;	13	··˘/·········
They bid 'im show 'is stockin's an' lay 'is mattress square;	13	··········/˘·
'E calls it bloomin' nonsense -- 'e doesn't know no more --	13	·····/˘·/˘···
An' then up comes 'is Company an' kicks 'im round the floor!	13	·····/˘······
The young recruit is 'ammered -- 'e takes it very 'ard;	13	··˘/······/˘·
'E 'angs 'is 'ead an' mutters -- 'e sulks about the yard;	13	·····/˘······
'E talks o' “cruel tyrants” 'e'll swing for by-an'-by,	12	···//˘······
An' the others 'ears an' mocks 'im, an' the boy goes orf to cry.	15	··/˘···········
The young recruit is silly -- 'e thinks o' suicide;	13	··˘/·/˘···/˘·
'E's lost 'is gutter-devil; 'e 'asn't got 'is pride;	11	···/˘/·····
But day by day they kicks 'im, which 'elps 'im on a bit,	13	·············
Till 'e finds 'isself one mornin' with a full an' proper kit.	15	············/˘·
Gettin' clear o' dirtiness, gettin' done with mess,	12	/˘··/˘˘/˘···
Gettin' shut o' doin' things rather-more-or-less;	12	/˘··/˘·/˘···
Not so fond of abby-nay, kul, nor hazar-ho,	12	····/˘······
Learns to keep 'is rifle an' 'isself jus' so!	11	····/˘·····
The young recruit is 'appy -- 'e throws a chest to suit;	13	··˘/·········
You see 'im grow mustaches; you 'ear 'im slap 'is boot;	13	····/·˘······
'E learns to drop the “bloodies” from every word 'e slings,	13	·····/˘·/˘···
An' 'e shows an 'ealthy brisket when 'e strips for bars an' rings.	15	······/˘·······
The cruel-tyrant-sergeants they watch 'im 'arf a year;	12	·//˘/˘······
They watch 'im with 'is comrades, they watch 'im with 'is beer;	13	·····/·······
They watch 'im with the women at the regimental dance,	14	·····/˘···˘/˘·
And the cruel-tyrant-sergeants send 'is name along for “Lance”.	14	··//˘/˘···˘/··
An' now 'e's 'arf o' nothin', an' all a private yet,	13	·····/˘···/˘·
'Is room they up an' rags 'im to see what they will get;	13	·············
They rags 'im low an' cunnin', each dirty trick they can,	13	········/˘···
But 'e learns to sweat 'is temper an' 'e learns to sweat 'is man.	15	······/˘·······
An', last, a Colour-Sergeant, as such to be obeyed,	13	···/˘/˘····˘/
'E schools 'is men at cricket, 'e tells 'em on parade;	13	·····/˘····˘/
They sees 'em quick an' 'andy, uncommon set an' smart,	13	·····/˘˘/˘···
An' so 'e talks to orficers which 'ave the Core at 'eart.	15	·········/˘····
'E learns to do 'is watchin' without it showin' plain;	13	·····/˘······
'E learns to save a dummy, an' shove 'im straight again;	13	·····/˘····˘/
'E learns to check a ranker that's buyin' leave to shirk;	12	·····/˘·····
An' 'e learns to make men like 'im so they'll learn to like their work.	15	···············
An' when it comes to marchin' he'll see their socks are right,	13	·············
An' when it comes to action 'e shows 'em 'ow to sight;	13	·····/˘······
'E knows their ways of thinkin' and just what's in their mind;	13	·····/˘······
'E knows when they are takin' on an' when they've fell be'ind.	13	·····/˘······
'E knows each talkin' corpril that leads a squad astray;	13	···/˘······˘/
'E feels 'is innards 'eavin', 'is bowels givin' way;	13	···/˘···/˘/˘·
'E sees the blue-white faces all tryin' 'ard to grin,	13	·····/˘·/˘···
An' 'e stands an' waits an' suffers till it's time to cap 'em in.	15	······/˘·······
An' now the hugly bullets come peckin' through the dust,	13	·····/˘······
An' no one wants to face 'em, but every beggar must;	13	········/˘/˘·
So, like a man in irons which isn't glad to go,	12	·····/·/˘···
They moves 'em off by companies uncommon stiff an' slow.	13	·····/˘˘/˘···
Of all 'is five years' schoolin' they don't remember much	13	·········˘/˘·
Excep' the not retreatin', the step an' keepin' touch.	13	·············
It looks like teachin' wasted when they duck an' spread an' 'op,	14	·····/˘·······
But if 'e 'adn't learned 'em they'd be all about the shop!	13	·············
An' now it's “'Oo goes backward?” an' now it's “'Oo comes on?”	13	·····/˘······
And now it's “Get the doolies,” an' now the captain's gone;	12	·········/˘·
An' now it's bloody murder, but all the while they 'ear	13	···/˘/˘······
'Is voice, the same as barrick drill, a-shepherdin' the rear.	14	·····/˘·······
'E's just as sick as they are, 'is 'eart is like to split,	13	·············
But 'e works 'em, works 'em, works 'em till he feels 'em take the bit;	15	···············
The rest is 'oldin' steady till the watchful bugles play,	14	·····/˘··/˘/˘·
An' 'e lifts 'em, lifts 'em, lifts 'em through the charge that wins the day!	15	···············
The 'eathen in 'is blindness bows down to wood an' stone;	13	·····/˘······
'E don't obey no orders unless they is 'is own;	13	··˘/·/˘······
The 'eathen in 'is blindness must end where 'e began,	13	·····/˘····˘/
But the backbone of the Army is the non-commissioned man!	15	··/···/˘···˘/˘·
Keep away from dirtiness -- keep away from mess.	12	·˘/·/˘˘·˘/··
Don't get into doin' things rather-more-or-less!	12	····/˘·/˘···
Let's ha' done with abby-nay, kul, an' hazar-ho;	12	····/˘······
Mind you keep your rifle an' yourself jus' so!	11	····/˘·˘/··

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.

More by Rudyard Kipling

Barrack-Room Ballads Verses 1889–1896