The Sergeant's Weddin'
'E was warned agin' 'er --That's what made 'im look;She was warned agin' 'im --That is why she took.'Wouldn't 'ear no reason,'Went an' done it blind;We know all about 'em,They've got all to find!
Cheer for the Sergeant's weddin' --Give 'em one cheer more!Grey gun-'orses in the lando,An' a rogue is married to, etc.
What's the use o' tellin''Arf the lot she's been?'E's a bloomin' robber,An' 'e keeps canteen.'Ow did 'e get 'is buggy?Gawd, you needn't ask!'Made 'is forty gallonOut of every cask!
Watch 'im, with 'is 'air cut,Count us filin' by --Won't the Colonel praise 'isPop -- u -- lar -- i -- ty!We 'ave scores to settle --Scores for more than beer;She's the girl to pay 'em --That is why we're 'ere!
See the chaplain thinkin'?See the women smile?Twig the married winkin'As they take the aisle?Keep your side-arms quiet,Dressin' by the Band.Ho! You 'oly beggars,Cough be'ind your 'and!
Now it's done an' over,'Ear the organ squeak,“'Voice that breathed o'er Eden” --Ain't she got the cheek!White an' laylock ribbons,Think yourself so fine!I'd pray Gawd to take yer'Fore I made yer mine!
Escort to the kerridge,Wish 'im luck, the brute!Chuck the slippers after --Bowin' like a lady,Blushin' like a lad --'Oo would say to see 'emBoth is rotten bad?
Cheer for the Sergeant's weddin' --Give 'em one cheer more!Grey gun-'orses in the lando,An' a rogue is married to, etc.
Words in this poem
- canteen n.
- A vessel used by soldiers for carrying water, liquor, or other drink. [F. cantine bottle case, canteen (cf. Sp. & It. cantina cellar, bottle case), either contr. fr. It. canovettina, dim. of canova cellar, or, more likely, fr. OF. ]
- buggy a.
- Infested or abounding with bugs. [From Bug.]
- gallon n.
- A measure of capacity, containing four quarts; -- used, for the most part, in liquid measure, but sometimes in dry measure. [OF galon, jalon, LL. galo, galona, fr. galum a liquid measure; cf. F. jale large bowl. Cf. Gill a measure.]
- chaplain n.
- An ecclesiastic who has a chapel, or who performs religious service in a chapel. [F. chapelain, fr. LL. capellanus, fr. capella. See Chapel.]
- squeak v. i.
- To utter a sharp, shrill cry, usually of short duration; to cry with an acute tone, as an animal; or, to make a sharp, disagreeable noise, as a pipe or quill, a wagon wheel, a door; to creak. [Probably of imitative origin; cf. Sw. sqväka to croak, Icel. skvakka to give a sound as of water shaken in a bottle.]
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- chuck v. i.
- To make a noise resembling that of a hen when she calls her chickens; to cluck. [Imitative of the sound.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sergeant's Weddin' 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 Sergeant's Weddin', in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/the-sergeant-s-weddin.html, id L16846.
Form and metre
The Sergeant's Weddin' is 55 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.9 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 -A-A-B-B er · lookA · im · tookA · reason · blindB · em · findB
- 3 ---A-BAB tellin · been · robber · canteenA · buggy · askB · gallonA · caskB
- 4 -A-A-B-B cut · byA · is · tyA · settle · beerB · em · ereB
- 5 ABAB-C-C thinkinA · smileB · winkinA · aisleB · quiet · bandC · beggars · andC
- 6 -ABA-B-B over · squeakA · edenB · cheekA · ribbons · fineB · yer · mineB
- 7 ----A-A kerridge · brute · after · lady · ladA · em · badA
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 trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'E was warned agin' 'er -- | 7 | ···˘˘/· |
| That's what made 'im look; | 5 | ····· |
| She was warned agin' 'im -- | 7 | ···˘˘/· |
| That is why she took. | 5 | ····· |
| 'Wouldn't 'ear no reason, | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| 'Went an' done it blind; | 5 | ····· |
| We know all about 'em, | 6 | ······ |
| They've got all to find! | 5 | ····· |
| Cheer for the Sergeant's weddin' -- | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Give 'em one cheer more! | 5 | ····· |
| Grey gun-'orses in the lando, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| An' a rogue is married to, etc. | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| What's the use o' tellin' | 6 | ····/˘ |
| 'Arf the lot she's been? | 5 | ····· |
| 'E's a bloomin' robber, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| An' 'e keeps canteen. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| 'Ow did 'e get 'is buggy? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Gawd, you needn't ask! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| 'Made 'is forty gallon | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Out of every cask! | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| Watch 'im, with 'is 'air cut, | 6 | ······ |
| Count us filin' by -- | 5 | ····· |
| Won't the Colonel praise 'is | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Pop -- u -- lar -- i -- ty! | 5 | ····· |
| We 'ave scores to settle -- | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| Scores for more than beer; | 5 | ····· |
| She's the girl to pay 'em -- | 6 | ······ |
| That is why we're 'ere! | 5 | ····· |
| See the chaplain thinkin'? | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| See the women smile? | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Twig the married winkin' | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| As they take the aisle? | 5 | ····· |
| Keep your side-arms quiet, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Dressin' by the Band. | 5 | ····· |
| Ho! You 'oly beggars, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Cough be'ind your 'and! | 4 | ···· |
| Now it's done an' over, | 6 | ······ |
| 'Ear the organ squeak, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| “'Voice that breathed o'er Eden” -- | 7 | ···˘·/˘ |
| Ain't she got the cheek! | 5 | ····· |
| White an' laylock ribbons, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Think yourself so fine! | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| I'd pray Gawd to take yer | 6 | ······ |
| 'Fore I made yer mine! | 5 | ····· |
| Escort to the kerridge, | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Wish 'im luck, the brute! | 5 | ····· |
| Chuck the slippers after -- | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Bowin' like a lady, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Blushin' like a lad -- | 5 | ····· |
| 'Oo would say to see 'em | 6 | ······ |
| Both is rotten bad? | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Cheer for the Sergeant's weddin' -- | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Give 'em one cheer more! | 5 | ····· |
| Grey gun-'orses in the lando, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| An' a rogue is married to, etc. | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
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.