This poem is about two fates that befall even the most powerful people, armies and nations, and that threatened england at the time. However, after reading the poem one can visualize a scene in which a father is speaking to his. The white mans burden was initially composed for this event, but kipling wrote and offered recessional instead. Here is another of rudyard kiplings poems i have set to music. Summary, overview, explanation, meaning, description, purpose, bio.
He is the jester and the jest, and he the text himself applies. The poem if does not have a conspicuous physical setting. Kipling asserts britains right to dominion by likening the nation to adam in the garden of eden. I wanted to have a nice collection of kiplings work. Ralph durand, a handbook to the poetry of rudyard kipling 1914. Title recessional counter to processional, it is the hymn sung when clergy and choir are to leave the church after the service. Take up the white mans burdensend forth the best ye breedgo bind your sons to exile to serve your captives need. Critical note, tone and conclusion of if by rudyard kipling. God of our fathers, known of old, lord of our farflung 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. Recessional poem jump to navigation jump to search. Discussion of themes and motifs in rudyard kiplings recessional.
Jan 24, 2016 here is another of rudyard kipling s poems i have set to music. Recessional a victorian ode poem by rudyard kipling. If by rudyard kipling if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too. If this poem is anything, its a poem about what not to do if you want to be a man or if you want to have a successful life. In fact, any lover of tennis can probably tell you that several of the poems lines are hanging in the player. Rudyard kipling uses his poem recessional as a christian prayer for mercy. The word recessional can be defined as the end of a church service when the priest and altar party exit the church.
The poem appeared in many authorised and unauthorised versions, sometimes under. The title suggests the departure of the clergy and the choir at the end of a service through the nave of a church. Therefore, it is possible that kipling is praying this prayer. The poem is structured in such a way that almost every line of every stanza of the poem starts with the word if. God of our fathers, known of old lord of our farflung 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 fo. A short analysis of rudyard kiplings if a summary of a muchloved poem since rudyard kiplings poem if was first published in kiplings volume of short stories and poems, rewards and fairies, in 1910, it has become one of kiplings bestknown poems, and was even voted the uks favourite poem of all time in a poll. God of our fathers, known of old, lord of our farflung battleline, beneath whose awful hand we hold. Recessional by rudyard kipling about this poet rudyard kipling is one of the bestknown of the late victorian poets and storytellers. If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, dont deal. If is a very negative poem, at least in that sense. I wanted to have a nice collection of kipling s work.
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, dont deal in lies, or being hated, dont give way to hating. Since rudyard kiplings poem if was first published in kiplings volume of short stories and poems, rewards and fairies, in 1910, it has become one of kiplings bestknown poems, and was even voted the uks favourite poem of all time in a poll of 1995. The poet conveys his ideas about how to win this life, and after all, how to be a good human being. The poem if can be viewed as a set of guidelines on how to live and act with integrity and right values such that one becomes the ideal human. Rudyard kipling, the white mans burden, 1899 this famous poem, written by britains imperial poet, was a response to the american take over of the phillipines after the spanishamerican war. More about this poem gethsemane by rudyard kipling about this poet rudyard kipling is one of the bestknown of the late victorian poets and storytellers. Recessional by kipling rudyard abebooks passion for books. Analysis of kiplings if the poem if is a paean to british masculine rectitude and stoicism.
Nov 12, 2014 ken m on katie koths key passage analysis on rudyard kiplings recessional roquiya on katie koths key passage analysis on rudyard kiplings recessional austin torney on jasmine murphys formal blog post on omar khayyams rubaiyat. If i cared enough i would find a decent guide to british literature, not merely a collection of poems, and a biography of kipling so that a proper analysis could be presented the entire poem is a condemnation of trusting in the use of military and naval might and in the use itself with proper references. Although he was awarded the nobel prize for literature in 1907, his political views, which grew more toxic as. God of our fathers, known of old lord of our farflung battle line beneath whose awful hand we hold dominion over palm and pine lord god of hosts, be with us yet, lest we forgetlest we. Discussion of themes and motifs in rudyard kipling s recessional. God of our fathers known of old lord of our farflung battle line beneath whose awful hand we hold. In this poem kipling is trying to reconcile his grief over losing his son john in the war this is the most common interpretation, although some critics maintain he was not referring directly to his son and his belief that military service was honorable, right, and necessary.
The white mans burden and the recessional in the white mans burden and in the recessional, kipling outlines his idealistic concept of empire which is based on service and sacrifice. If i cared enough i would find a decent guide to british literature, not merely a collection of poems, and a biography of kipling so that a proper analysis could be presented the entire poem is a. Poems study guide contains a biography of rudyard kipling, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of select poems. The poet is addressing his son in the poem, shedding light on his beliefs and conveying those to his son. This famous poem, written by britains imperial poet born in india, boarding school in britain, journalist in india, fame in britain, and marriage and live for a time in usa, was a response to the american take over of the phillippines after the spanishamerican war. More about this poem recessional by rudyard kipling about this poet rudyard kipling is one of the bestknown of the late victorian poets and storytellers. Yates sees comparisons of form and phrase in thomas wyatts forget not yet. Rider haggard does not name the poem, he refers to recessional. Bbc poetry season poems recessional by rudyard kipling. The refrain that ends all but one stanza of rudyard kipling s poem titled recessional essentially exhorts readers not to forget all the various kinds of obligations and loyalties they owe. Its so much a part of our collective memory that we often forget its source in kiplings recessional. Although he was awarded the nobel prize for literature in 1907, his political views, which grew more toxic as he aged, have long made him critically unpopular. Legacy its most seriousas in recessional 1897 and similar pieces in which kipling addressed himself to his fellow countrymen in times of crisisthe effect is rhetorical rather than imaginative.
In fact, any lover of tennis can probably tell you that several of the poems lines are hanging in the players entrance at centre court wimbledon in england. If the led striker call it a strike, or the papers call it a war, they know not much what i am like, nor what he is, my avatar. Recessional a victorian ode god of our fathers, known of old lord of our farflung 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. Be sure to read all of the description given on this particular book and i use the work book loosely.
The refrain that ends all but one stanza of rudyard kiplings poem titled recessional essentially exhorts readers not to forget all the various kinds of obligations and loyalties they owe. Jul 17, 1999 its so much a part of our collective memory that we often forget its source in kipling s recessional. Seriously, at times the poem assumes a kind of dont do this, and never do that, and you better not do that tone. Recessional a victorian ode analysis rudyard kipling. Recessional by rudyard kipling 1897 a dmaj7 a dmaj7 god of our fathers, known. Rudyard kipling manuscript signed of his poem, recessional. God of our fathers, known of old lord of our farflung battleline beneath whose awful hand we hold dominion over palm and pine lord god of hosts, be with us yet, lest. God of our fathers, known of old lord of our farflung 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. Each one of these sestets follows a structured and consistent rhyme scheme of ababcc, alternating with the poets choice of words throughout the text. If complete summary and analysis by rudyard kipling stanza 1. Through many roads, by me possessed, he shambles forth in cosmic guise. Manuscript signed, being the entire poem recessional, christmas 1898, signed by kipling and inscribed to john hays hammond, an american mining engineer and consultant to british mineral interests. Each of the four stanzas deals with different life situations and the best way to act during them.
All of the analysis of the poem in the article appears to be original research. Feb 07, 2017 the poem if can be viewed as a set of guidelines on how to live and act with integrity and right values such that one becomes the ideal human. As a recessional is a hymn or piece of music that is sung or played at the end of a religious service, in some respects the title dictates the form of the poem, which is that of a traditional english hymn. A short analysis of rudyard kiplings if interesting. The poem if by the indiaborn british nobel laureate poet rudyard kipling is a poem of ultimate inspiration that tells us how to deal with different situations in life. Recessional contains five stanzas of six lines each. Which, particularly in this case, is a pity because the source makes the quote all too appropriate perhaps a bit more so than the media, with its jingoistic views on the war, might wish. Recessional by rudyard kipling was written in 1897 for the queen victorias diamond jubilee and. Figure 11 a new interpretation of the kipling poem in the guardian weekly. Katie koths key passage analysis on rudyard kiplings.
We can trace the biblical imagery out of the first stanza and through to the end of the poem. Dominion over palm and pine lord god of hosts, be with us yet, lest we forgetlest we forget. Rudyard kiplings if is a dissertation on the virtues of model leadership and exemplary manhood. The poem has been very rightfully penned in iambic pentameter by kipling as this imparts the poem with a sense of balance and order which is in sync with the virtues of meaningful living which the poem prescribes. Then beware lest thou forget the lord which brought thee forth out of the land of egypt. The poem appeared in many authorised and unauthorised versions, sometimes under the title after or retrocessional, including its appearance in recessional and other poems by rudyard kipling, 1925, and in a kipling pageant 1935. If complete summary and analysis by rudyard kipling. In all our years in this field, we can only recall seeing one other signed copy of this monumental poem.
Analysis of recessional by rudyard kipling poem analysis. The poem, written in 1895 and first published in rewards and fairies. Although he was awarded the nobel prize for literature in 1907, his political views, which grew more toxic as he aged, have long made him critically. Many people consider this poem to be one of the most inspirational, and the poem has garnered much attention in popular culture. Katie koths key passage analysis on rudyard kiplings recessional. It is one of kipling s more enigmatic and cerebral poems. Recessional a victorian ode poem by rudyard kipling poem. Recessional by rudyard kipling is a five stanza poem which was first published in 1897 for queen victorias diamond jubilee. Recessional 1897 kipling composed this poem prayer for the occasion of queen victorias diamond jubilee in 1897. In fact, any lover of tennis can probably tell you that several of the poem s lines are hanging in the player. Clare on katie halls key passage analysis on constance nadens natural selection. Kiplings recessional with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. Oct 12, 2011 rudyard kipling recessional posted on october 12, 2011 by impracticalcriticism kipling presents this celebration and encouragement of british imperialism in the form of a prayer, asking forgiveness for those who dont acknowledge divine approval and assistance in britains colonization efforts.
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