Seven Watchmen
Seven Watchmen - meaning Summary
Inner Rule Versus Outward Counsel
Kipling's "Seven Watchmen" contrasts external authority with inner judgment. The watchmen represent powers proclaiming worldly glory and urging the Man to shape a kingdom outwardly. The Man's own mind counters that the true kingdom is internal. The poem warns that in both hard and indulgent times people trust inner conviction more than external counsel. It presents an enduring tension between public power and private conscience.
Read Complete AnalysesSeven Watchmen sitting in a tower, Watching what had come upon mankind, Showed the Man the Glory and the Power, And bade him shape the Kingdom to his mind. "All things on Earth your will shall win you." ('Twas so their council ran) " But the Kingdom--the Kingdom is within you," Said the Man's own mind to the Man. For time--and some time-- As it was in the bitter years before So it shall be in the over-sweetened hour-- That a man's mind is wont to tell him more Than Seven Watchmen sitting in a tower.
1918
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