Gunga Din and Other Favorite Poems

I am a life-long fan of the black and white Gunga Din movie and I told my 9 year-old son about it. He showed a lot of interest in the story and I thought it would be a good idea to look up the original that inspired the movie and I am very glad I did. The old 19th century poems written in soldier's talk were perfect for reading aloud after supper. To my very big surprise, my son proved quite capable of comprehending the deeper meaning behind the poem and the significance of writing about it during the Victorian era. That alone made it all worthwhile and has encouraged me to continue to expose my children to the classics.

As other reviewers have noted, Kipling has faded in popularity because he was, supposedly, a literary imperialist. How very narrow-minded. Kipling has been called by others...the greatest writer of the English Language. I think this opinion is close to the mark. In my opinion, Kipling's poetry is superb. At one level, it is direct, masculine and nonsubtle. At another level, it is subtle and insightful, indeed. "So 'ere's to you Fuzzy Wuzzy At your 'ome in the Sudan You're a poor benighted 'eathen but a first-class fighting man." Or, the poem that prevented him from being appointed poet-laureate of Great Britain [Queen Victoria was NOT pleased]. "So 'ere's to you, Widow at Windsor For 'alf of creation you own and we've won her the same with the sword and the flame and salted it down with our bones. Poor boys. It's blue with our bones." Lines like this are the work of genius and have never really been surpassed...and, in terms of Kipling's being a hard-shelled colonialist...well...his detractors clearly never actually read Kipling. "Din, Din, Din You Lazarusian leather Gunga Din Though I've beat you Though I've flayed you By the Livin' God what made you You're a better man than I am Gunga Din." Kipling was a man both humane and intelligent enough to understand and 'feel' the ambiguities of colonialism and empire. Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico.

The poetry of Kipling does not have the complex ambiguity or the multivalent richness which many today associate with the highest kind of poetry. He writes a plain and clear stanza in which the meaning is open at first glance to the ' common reader'. He often tells a story and writes provides clear opinions on a subject. Kipling is often criticized today for his championing of the empire, for his colonial vision of the world, for his not altogether enlightened view of the role of women in society. But these ' political issues' aside Kipling's verse often has a power and moral value. He writes about common people doing the work of the world. He sympathizes with the 'man in the ranks'. He is a great champion of the virtues of courage, loyalty and integrity. Many of his poems have been frequently anthologized and are very well known. "East is East, West is West, and never the Twain shall meet" is one of the most famous, but the most famous, and one of the most beloved English language poems of all time is "If". It is really a kind of guide to a young person of how to be admirable in life. It is constructed as a series of conditionals, as "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs". Another of the most famous poems written at the time of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee," Recessional" has as its theme in Louis Untermeyer, " man's impermanent grandeur". This poem's opening stanza too contains memorable lines exemplifying Kipling at his best. Recessional "God of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far- flung battle line Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine- Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget- Lest we forget." Kipling today may be somewhat neglected but he is deservedly unforgotten by many readers capable of learning from and enjoying his fine poetry.

Rudyard Kipling's poetry and prose resonated with the general public in Great Britain and America during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Later, as his patriotism and unabashed support for the British empire became viewed as outdated, his reputation faded. It is easy to dismiss Kipling as culturally insensitive, especially if one has read little of his poetry. And admittedly, it is not difficult to find specific verses to support this contention. However, I quickly discovered that this characterization of Rudyard Kipling is incomplete, one sided, and simplistic. The Ballad of East and West begins with the familiar lines: "Oh, East is East and West is West, and Never the Twain Shall Meet." Contrary to what these opening lines suggest, this ballad illustrates Kipling's appreciation for what we now call cultural diversity. The Ballad of East and West ends with this thought: "But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, tho' they come from the ends of the earth." In the Neolithic Age: "There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays, and every single one of them is right." This nonjudgmental refrain is surprisingly modern. The Sea and the Hills: "So and no otherwise - so and no otherwise hillmen desire their Hills." Each verse in this poem proclaims the majesty and power of the great seas, sentiments widely held by the seafaring British people. And yet, each verse ends with a reminder that others, like the hillmen, equally respect their native environment. The Betrothed: "And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke." This much quoted comical reply was made to Maggie's ultimatum, "You must choose between me and your cigar". No, this might not appeal to the modern woman. Possibly, however, The Female of the Species might go some ways in making amends with its refrain: "For the female of the species is more deadly than the male." The Absent-Minded Beggar: "Pass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay - pay - pay." This widely popular poem was credited with the amassing of donations for the aged, destitute veterans of Britain's many conflicts. Kipling declined most of the many honors which were offered him, including a knighthood, the Poet Laureateship, and the Order of Merit, but in 1907 he accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Fifty years ago some of the poems in this book were part of the mental baggage of every adult Engish speaker. These days Kipling's reputation has taken a hammering. It's easy to brand him rascist by quoting "the white man's burden" or lines like: "he was white clear white inside" from gunga din and forgetting the last three lines of the same poem, Imperialistic, mysoginist or whatever is currently unfashionable. Even as a poet he hasn't recovered from the movement of poetry during the twentieth century from the reader to the university. You don't need critics to "explain Kipling". There's not a lot your average university critic can say about Kipling's verse, he doesn't need copious critical commentary, and since he doesn't offer the critic much hope of publication, he's been neglected or damned with faint praise: "an ability to make the commonplace memorable" Well, invest a dollar and find out for yourself. He sings. "If" is, whatever you think of the last line, full of fine advice. "In the neolithic age" is something all writers and critics should read and remember and no one summed up the life of the British private soldier better. Dover thrift continue to provide an excellent service making good, cheap editions, free of any critical clutter, available so that readers can read for themselves. The only niggle with htis book is that Kiplin does need a glossary and the glossary in this book is a little too haphazard.