Kipling: The Complete Verse

I get quite annoyed when I hear Rudyard Kipling being reduced to being 'the poet of manhood and masculinity'. It's so caricatural and simplistic! He wrote on so many different topics and with such a verve, range of moods, and style, that such narrowed labelling tends to get on my nerves.

Yes, for sure, as a man those political ideas were controversial (a staunch defender of the British Empire) he was obviously a jingoist, and, so, had an silly admiration for the military despite having himself never wore the uniform -let alone battled in a war as a soldier! One could therefore easily dismiss (or, at least, overlook) most of his 'barrack-room' verses as being no more than a child playing 'bang-bang-you're-dead!'. Yet, such poems are show more interesting because, funnily enough, their writing style reflects his romanticised militarism; from their powerful images to the repetitions of whole lines, reading like military parades and marches... There's is indeed something 'tough' about him. Quite admittedly, too, as a well travelled man (he had gone all around the world) his poems about boats and ships are also very 'masculine', and surprisingly creative given how limited such a topic must have been to expand upon. His portrayals are always about the rough and tough boats at war against the elements and chaotic seas, going onwards into adventures. But...

But, he also penned some cheeky and whimsy verses about the British ruling classes in India, showing him having no patience for the politicians and other pen-pushers of the British Home Office and their pettiness. His poems about India might be beautiful, but his mockeries and digs at whose administering it are certainly more delightful to read! Here's indeed another thing: whether he was laughing at the bureaucrats, praising the common soldiers, describing the common people no matter the cultures they belonged to, or, teasing with some womanising (again, he was more of a barrack-room type of poet than a troubadour...) Kipling was really good at describing the common man.

Now, of course, as a crusader for colonialism, he definitely was on the wrong side of history. 'The White Man's Burden' will always remain one of the most infamous poem ever written, and you certainly want to punch him in the face for his 'naivety' (I was about to type 'stupidity'...) at praising the likes of Cecil Rhodes! Jingoist and imperialist as he was, let's not forget, though, that he was also capable of displaying deep and heart-felt emotions; as in some of his poems about the First World War. Did grieving for his son soften him a bit?

Was he racist? Or 'merely' (well) a patronising ethnocentric?

Kipling? He may not have been a likeable man, but you cannot take away from him that he was a great poet. At the service of the wrong cause, but great nevertheless. show less

While not everything he wrote was great --- sometimes he reminds me of Beerbohm's cartoon of Kipling on the town with his girl Britannia -- there is enough funny, moving and beautiful stuff in here to last me a lifetime.

This volume of 845 pages contains most of the poetical output of Rudyard Kipling. Many of his poems could be described as 'Jingoistic' and rightly so,but nevertheless they are still undoubtedly poems that still move the reader today. Even though the events leading to the composition of many of these pieces are long forgotten,still such poems as 'Boots' and 'The 'Eathen' will be well remembered. I love the poems ' The Glory of the Garden ' and 'Gunga Din'. Some,including this last maybe considered not to be politically correct in this day-and-age,but if read carefully,they will be seen to be full of respect for native troops ect.
Many will deride what is probably Kipling's most well-known piece 'IF----',but again if you read it carefully show more and take in his words,you will not go very far wrong,I believe. "If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a man,my son! show less

I love this book I came across it in what we call a charity shop in Southgate North London where I was teaching at the time.
When I got home I scanned through the book to find on the inside page that the book belonged to a a Mr Alan Titchmarsh of the BBC London.
No idea if he lost it or threw it out, as a bibliophile and collector of books if he lost it I would give it back to him as I know the pain of losing a book I love.
My favourite Kipling poem is 'If'.

Magnificient, much underrated poet

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