By the Hoof of the Wild Goat
By the Hoof of the Wild Goat - meaning Summary
Fate, Guilt, and a Plea
Kipling's poem depicts a stone knocked by a wild goat from a cliff into a dark tarn. The narrative frames the fall as both ordained by larger forces and personally tragic for the stone, which experiences guilt and isolation. The speaker appeals to a divine judge, asking God to assess the stone's perceived sin. The poem examines fate, responsibility, and the tension between cosmic order and individual suffering.
Read Complete AnalysesBy the Hoof of the Wild Goat uptossed From the cliff where she lay in the Sun Fell the Stone To the Tarn where the daylight is lost, So she fell from the light of the Sun And alone! Now the fall was ordained from the first With the Goat and the Cliff and the Tarn, But the Stone Knows only her life is accursed As she sinks from the light of the Sun And alone! Oh Thou Who hast builded the World, Oh Thou Who hast lighted the Sun, Oh Thou Who hast darkened the Tarn, Judge Thou The sin of the Stone that was hurled By the goat from the light of the Sun, As she sinks in the mire of the Tarn, Even now--even now--even now!
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