"The Fall of Kang" was an epic poem written by the Klingon poet G'trok.
A quote from the poem read:
The poem was required reading at Starfleet Academy. Noted Federation scientist Gideon Seyetik was quite fond of this poem, noting that despite being a little obvious, the underlying message was true nonetheless.
In 2370, during his self-proclaimed "crowning achievement," moments before igniting Epsilon 119 via shuttlepod-suicide, Seyetik quoted "The Fall of Kang", stating "You're looking at one warrior who refuses to be pitied." (DS9: "Second Sight")
It was the original intention of this poem to refer to the legendary Dahar Master Kang, from TOS: "Day of the Dove". However, unknown to the writers of "Second Sight", plans were in the works to bring Kang back for the episode "Blood Oath", which established a contradiction. Robert Hewitt Wolfe, the person who named the poem, later suggested that the Kang referred to therein was an ancient warrior with the same name as the Dahar Master. On the other hand, Ira Steven Behr quipped, "This was Oscar Kang as opposed to Samuel Kang." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 104) The possibility of the poem having been named after an ancient figure called Kang is indirectly supported in ENT: "Judgment", as the "Koloth" cited during Jonathan Archer's trial is obviously not the one who appeared alongside Kang in "Blood Oath".
While Kang was spared the fate told in the poem, DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach" showed his friend Kor seemingly doomed to this fate, before making the most of one final opportunity and going to a glorious death.
External link[]
- "The Fall of Kang" at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works