Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
August 28, 1892
The Cheyenne Daily Leader
Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming
What is this article about?
Rudyard Kipling's poem 'The Explanation' allegorically depicts Love and Death mixing their arrows at the Tavern of Man's Life, resulting in old men loving while young men die, questioning if leaders understand this tragic irony.
Clipping
OCR Quality
100%
Excellent
Full Text
THE EXPLANATION.
Love and Death once ceased their strife At the Tavern of Man's Life. Called for wine, and threw, alas! Each his quiver on the grass.
When the bout was o'er they found Mingled arrows strewed the ground. Hastily they gathered then Each the loves and lives of men.
Ah, the fateful dawn deceived! Mingled arrows each one sheaved; Death's dread armory was stored With the shafts he most abhorred;
Love's light quiver groaned beneath Venom headed darts of death.
Thus it was they wrought our woe At the Tavern long ago. Tell me, do our masters know, Loosing blindly as they fly, Old men love while young men die?
—Rudyard Kipling.
Love and Death once ceased their strife At the Tavern of Man's Life. Called for wine, and threw, alas! Each his quiver on the grass.
When the bout was o'er they found Mingled arrows strewed the ground. Hastily they gathered then Each the loves and lives of men.
Ah, the fateful dawn deceived! Mingled arrows each one sheaved; Death's dread armory was stored With the shafts he most abhorred;
Love's light quiver groaned beneath Venom headed darts of death.
Thus it was they wrought our woe At the Tavern long ago. Tell me, do our masters know, Loosing blindly as they fly, Old men love while young men die?
—Rudyard Kipling.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ballad
What themes does it cover?
Death Mourning
Love Courtship
War Military
What keywords are associated?
Love And Death
Mixed Arrows
Tavern Of Life
Young Men Die
Rudyard Kipling
What entities or persons were involved?
Rudyard Kipling
Poem Details
Title
The Explanation.
Author
Rudyard Kipling
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
Love And Death Once Ceased Their Strife At The Tavern Of Man's Life.
Old Men Love While Young Men Die?