Such impact is identifiable within Kipling’s poems. He was born a caucasian man in Mumbai and was thus considered part of the “superior” class. He often called “Poet of the Empire”, due to his patriotic writing style. Due to the patriotic nature of his work, he attracted a large caucasian following that predominantly proposed British imperialism. This meant that he had to be wary when treating politically charged topics, as he could be scrutinized by his public. Nonetheless, we must keep in mind that “A poem does not come into existence by accident.” as argued by William K. Wimsatt Jr. & Monroe C. Beardsley in their paper Intentional Fallacy, within which is argued that all decisions in poetry are closely precalculated and everything is intentional.
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(Rudyard Kipling, February 1942)
we cannot assume that any poet does or does not agree with that they wrote, as they could be exercising their Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. It is empirical that we include a writer’s place in society, and their context into account when analyzing poetry. In Kipling’s case we can say that if he wanted to shade himself from public scrutiny it would be favourable to propose the conventional notions that were held within his context.
His most famous poem The White Man’s Burden encapsulates these conventional notions. Set up as a ‘to-do list’ the poem provides tips to Europeans of what to do once you have colonised a region.
“Take up the White Man’s burden-
The savage wars of peace-
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease”
(The White Man’s Burden, stanza …show more content…
This poem is also written in direct address. Towards the end, the narrator asks his reader to get “On your feet, and let them know, This is why we love her! … For she is our own South Africa,” (South Africa). Here is where we must note the contrast between the portrayed aid that is ordered of the public in The White Man’s Burden as opposed to the ownership of South Africa which the narrator is telling his public to celebrate. We see a conflicting use of language between the two. Nonetheless, it is true to say that both are written in a condescending tone and with derogatory word choice. An example of this is Kipling’s reference to the natives as “half-devil and half-child” in the first stanza of The White Man’s Burden, whilst saying: “May the Lord amend her” (South Africa, 1st stanza) when referring to South Africa. The reader is then left skeptical of whether the narrator's intention in both South Africa and The White Man’s Burden is good. This doubt is intensified when taking into account the context which Kipling inhabited, the name he was given as an author proposing British imperialism, and the public he was writing
”
(Rudyard Kipling, February 1942)
we cannot assume that any poet does or does not agree with that they wrote, as they could be exercising their Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. It is empirical that we include a writer’s place in society, and their context into account when analyzing poetry. In Kipling’s case we can say that if he wanted to shade himself from public scrutiny it would be favourable to propose the conventional notions that were held within his context.
His most famous poem The White Man’s Burden encapsulates these conventional notions. Set up as a ‘to-do list’ the poem provides tips to Europeans of what to do once you have colonised a region.
“Take up the White Man’s burden-
The savage wars of peace-
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease”
(The White Man’s Burden, stanza …show more content…
This poem is also written in direct address. Towards the end, the narrator asks his reader to get “On your feet, and let them know, This is why we love her! … For she is our own South Africa,” (South Africa). Here is where we must note the contrast between the portrayed aid that is ordered of the public in The White Man’s Burden as opposed to the ownership of South Africa which the narrator is telling his public to celebrate. We see a conflicting use of language between the two. Nonetheless, it is true to say that both are written in a condescending tone and with derogatory word choice. An example of this is Kipling’s reference to the natives as “half-devil and half-child” in the first stanza of The White Man’s Burden, whilst saying: “May the Lord amend her” (South Africa, 1st stanza) when referring to South Africa. The reader is then left skeptical of whether the narrator's intention in both South Africa and The White Man’s Burden is good. This doubt is intensified when taking into account the context which Kipling inhabited, the name he was given as an author proposing British imperialism, and the public he was writing