Kipling Poems

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is often regarded as the unofficial Laureate of the British Empire. Yet his writing reveals a ferociously independent figure at times violently opposed to the dominant political and literary tendencies of his age. Arranged in chronological order, this diverse selection of his poetry shows the development of Kipling's talent, his deepening maturity and the growing sombreness of his poetic vision. Ranging from early, exhilarating celebrations of British expansion overseas, including 'Mandalay' and 'Gunga Din', to the dignified and inspirational 'If -' and the later, deeply moving 'Epitaphs of the War' - inspired by the death of Kipling's only son - it clearly illustrates the scope and originality of his work. It also offers a compelling insight into the Empire both at its peak and during its decline in the early years of the twentieth century.

Beloved for his fanciful and engrossing children’s literature, controversial for his enthusiasm for British imperialism, Rudyard Kipling remains one of the most widely read writers of Victorian and modern English literature. In addition to writing more than two dozen works of fiction, including Kim and The Jungle Book, Kipling was a prolific poet, composing verse in every classical form from the epigram to the ode. Kipling’s most distinctive gift was for ballads and narrative poems in which he drew vivid characters in universal situations, articulating profound truths in plain language. Yet he was also a subtle, affecting anatomist of the human heart, and his deep feeling for the natural world was exquisitely expressed in his verse. He was shattered by World War I, in which he lost his only son, and his work darkened in later years but never lost its extraordinary vitality. All of these aspects of Kipling’s poetry are represented in this selection, which ranges from such well-known compositions as “Mandalay” and “If” to the less-familiar, emotionally powerful, and personal epigrams he wrote in response to the war.

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was an English novelist, journalist, poet, and short-story writer most famous for his stories set in and related to colonial India. He innovated the art of short story writing and was one of the most popular writers in the U.K. during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A brand new collection of Kipling's best poetry, including “Gunga Din”, “If—“, “Recessional”, “The Gods of the Copybook Headings”, “The White Man's Burden”, “Mesopotamia”, “The Female of the Species”, “The Ballad of East and West”, “Epitaphs of the War”, “The Way Through the Woods”, “Mother O' Mine”, and many more. A fantastic collection not to be missed by poetry lovers and fans of Kipling's seminal work. Other notable works by this author include: “The Jungle Book” (1894), “Kim” (1901), and “The Man Who Would be King” (1888).

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist. Contents: Poetry Collections: Departmental Ditties Ballads and Barrack-Room Ballads The Seven Seas An Almanac of Twelve Sports The Five Nations Songs from Books The Years Between Other Poems: A Boy Scouts' Patrol Song A Child's Garden A Counting-Out Song A Departure A Legend of the Foreign Office A Legend of Truth A Pageant of Elizabeth A Preface A Rector's Memory A Song in the Desert A Song of Bananas A Song of French Roads A Song of the White Men A Translation Akbar's Bridge Alnaschar and the Oxen Arterial At His Execution Azrael's Count "Back To the Army Again" Banquet Night "Before a Midnight Breaks in Storm" Big Steamers Bobs Brown Bess Cain and Abel Carmen Circulare Cells Chartres Windows "Cleared" Contradictions Covenent Dane-Geld Danny Deever Dinah in Heaven Doctors Edgehill Fight Evarra And His Gods "Farewell and adieu..." Fastness Four-Feet Fox-Hunting "Fuzzy-Wuzzy" Gentlmen-Rankers Gertrude's Prayer Giffen's Debt Gipsy Vans Great-Heart Half-Ballade of Waterval "Helen all Alone" His Apologies Hymn of Breaking Strain Hymn to Physical Pain "I Keep Six Honest..." If In Springtime In the Matter of One Compass In the Neolithic Age James I Jane's Marriage Kitchener's School Lady Geraldine's Hardship "Late Came the God" L'Envoi to "Life's Handicap" Lollius London Stone Macdonough's Song Memories Mine Sweepers Mowgli's Song My Father's Chair "My New-Cut Ashler" Neighbours Norman and Saxon One Viceroy Resigns Oonts Our Lady of the Sackcloth Pan in Vermont Philadelphia Poseidon's Low "Poison of Asps" Prelude Public Waste Rahere Rebirth Seal Lullaby Sepulchral Seven Watchmen Shillin' a Day "Soldier an' Sailor Too" Songs of Seventy Horses Song of the Dynamo Song of the Galley-Slaves Stellenbosch "Such as in Ships" ...

'Hear and attend and listen...' Rudyard Kipling is a supreme master of the short story in English and a poet of brilliant gifts. His energy and inventiveness poured themselves into every kind of tale, from the bleakest of fables to the richest of comedies, and he illuminated every aspect of human behaviour, of which he was a fascinated (and sometimes appalled) observer. This generous selection of stories and poems, first published in the acclaimed Oxford Authors series, covers the full range of Kipling's career from the youthful volumes that brought him fame as the chronicler of British India, to the bittersweet fruits of age and bereavement in the aftermath of the First World War. It includes stories such as 'The Man who would be King', 'Mrs Bathurst', and 'Mary Postgate', and poems from Barrack-Room Ballads and other collections. In his introduction and notes Daniel Karlin addresses the controversial political engagement of Kipling's art, and the sources of its imaginative power. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.