Paper 3, Module 14: Text
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PAPER 3, MODULE 14: TEXT I. (A) Personal Details Role Name Affiliation Principal Investigator Prof. Tutun University of Hyderabad Mukherjee Paper Coordinator Dr. Neeru Tandon CSJM University, Kanpur Content Writer/Author (CW) Dr. Anshul Chandra Ch. Charan Singh PG College, Heonra, Etawah Content Reviewer (CR) Dr Supriya Shukla CSJMU Language Editor (LE) Dr Ram Prakash VSSD College, CSJMU Kanpur Pradhan (B) Description of Module Item Description of module Subject Name English literature Paper name Nineteenth Century English Literature Module title Rudyard Kipling Module ID MODULE 14 Pre-requisites The reader is expected to have familiarity with the trends of the Romantic age and Major poets. Objectives To familiarize the reader with the poems and persona of William Wordsworth as a poet. Key words Rudyard Kipling If Recessional The White Man’s Burden The Ballad of East and West MODULE STRUCTURE 14.0 Learning outcome 14.1 Rudyard Kipling – A general introduction 14.2 Theme of his poetry 14.3 Kipling‟s IF 14.4 Kipling's Recessional 14.5 Kipling's The White Man's Burden 14.6 Kipling's The Ballad of East and West 14.7 Self assessment/MCQ 14.8 Suggested readings 14:00Learning outcome By the end of the lesson, students should be ableto understand Themes of his poems Rudyard Kipling's contribution in 19th century poetry Summary and critical analysis of his major poems 14:01 Rudyard Kipling: A General Introduction Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English author, journalist and poet in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1907for literature and become the first English writer and the youngest recipient to have received the award till the day. Kipling was born in Bombay on 30 December, 1865. His father Lockwood Kipling was principal of the Jeejeebyhoy school of Art. His five fabulous years in India, Kipling was sent to England at the age of 6 where he lived with a couple Mr. and Mrs. Holloway with his sister. Kipling's childhood can be described as an unhappy one. Those years of humiliation, torture and oblique were recalled through his autobiography. In 1878, Kipling went on to attend United Service College at Westward. Since his parents could not afford to send him to study at Oxford, he abandoned his dream and took up a job as an assistant editor of the Civil and Military Gazette at Lahore. During those years, Kipling wrote over thirty stories for the Gazette. In 1888, his first prose collection “Plain Tales from the Hills” was published. Now Kipling moved south to join a much renowned newspaper The Pioneer, Allahabad and kept on writing. He published six volumes of short stories including in “Black and White”, “The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Tales”, “The story of the Gadsbys and other child stories”. He left India to return to England in 1889, to make his entry in the literal world. There his literary life brought him to the attention of many people there he wrote his first novel “The Light That Failed" in 1891. He comes in contact with Wolcott Balestier, who was an American author and publishing agent with whom he collaborated on a novel, The Naulahka. In 1891, on the advice of his doctors and his deteriorating health, Kipling went on another sea voyage visiting South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and once again India. Meanwhile he wrote a collection of short stories which was published in 1891. His friend Balestier died on December 1891 and Kipling married to his sister Caroline in 1892. He started working on the "Mowgli Stories". In the short span of four year he produced “The Junglebooks”, a collection of short stories (The Day's work), a novel (Captains courageous) and a profusion of poetry, including the volume “The Seven Seas”. The collection of “Barrack-Room Ballads” was issued in March1892, contains his poems "Mandalay and "Gunga Din" He especially enjoyed writing the Jungle books in which he described life in all different forms. It is a Master piece of imaginative writing. In 1896, after a fierce quarrel with Beatty Balistier, Kipling‟s privacy was destroyed. He and his wife returned to England. There he published another novel drawing on his knowledge of New England life; “Captains Courageous." In England he began to write more actively and published his two poems "Recessional” (1897) and “The White Man's Burden" (1890) which gave rise to huge controversies. After death of his eldest daughter, Kipling published his novel “Kim”, the story of an orphan Irish boy, which was his finest work. In 1902 he completed is collection of stories called “Just So Stories” which would become one of his most acclaimed works. In the first decade of the20th century Kipling was at the height of his popularity. He wrote two science fiction “With the Night Mail” (1905) and “As Easy as A.B.C.” (1912), both set in the 21st century. After this came two great poetry and story collection “Puck of Pook'shill” (1906) and “Rewards and Fairies”(1910). Kipling wrote many other works and children's classics. He was actively involved in the Boer War in South Africa and in 1917 he was assigned the post of "Honorary literary Advisor" to the Imperial war Graves Commission. After his son's death, he wrote a poem "My Boy Jack" in which he deeply mourns for his son cursing and blaming himself. Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s but at a slower pace. He died of a hemorrhage on 18 Jan 1936 and was cremated at golden green crematorium. 14:02Themes of his poetry T.S. Eliot Said, ―An immense gift for using words, an amazing curiosity and power of observation with his mind and with all his senses, the mask of the entertainer, and beyond that a queer gift of second sight, of transmitting messages from elsewhere, a gift so disconcerting when we are made aware of it that thenceforth we are never sure when it is not present: all this makes Kipling a writer impossible wholly to understand and quite impossible to belittle.” Among all of the writers of Britain's Victorian Era, Kipling remains as one of the most well- known ad cherished. Kipling's writings are a reflection of daily newspaper events that shows the rise of nationalisms and the industrial resolution. The themes of his poetry directly relate of the value of Victorian Era. Imperialism Imperialism is the main theme of his works along with other important topics. All aspects of Kipling life connected to British imperialistic ideals. In his poems, both the east and west lifestyles served as important part. His dedication to the British Empire was vital to his success. His poem “The White Man's Burden” is a fine example of imperialism. The poem in particular warns about the problems faced by those who devoted themselves to the colonial cause, they might face scorn. Throughout his poetry the British Empire "assumeda complex mythical or legendary function which in return became passed on to his readers. Since he lived both in England and India, it gave him personal experience with imperialism from both points of view. His had different views of imperialism. According to him; “it was predicated on deeply held political, racial, moral and religious beliefs which sustain feeling of innate British superiority." Religion The second most important theme of Kipling's poem is religion. Kipling had strong religious influence during his childhood. In his poems Kipling always describes the importance of religion on one's life. Some poems are full of religious vocabulary which could be determined just through the musical hymn like nature of the poem. Through his poems Kipling warns not to forget about god during the time of prosperity of Empire. All worldly possessions will fade into dust. It was through god's divine help that people were able to achieve all they want. Through his poems Kipling worked as a driving force to bring religion back into the society. India One of the important aspects of Kipling's writing is his observance of India. He gave a voice to the Indian people during his time. Description of India in the poem of Kipling is quite natural. Many older editions of his books have a swastika printed on their covers associated with a picture of an elephant carrying a lotus flower, reflecting the influence of Indian culture on him. His attachment with India, his birth country is not amazing. He compares Indian culture with British and found India more appealing. He compares the climate, the animals, and the ease of life in India with cold, rainy and coarse world of London. He believed in Indian culture as it is an exotic thing which provides men an exciting counterpart to their dreary London existence. Here people are always enigmatic and shows their true personality. Masculinity Kipling's poems deal with sentiments and behaviours of male. Kipling's believed in the true characteristic of males‟ i.e. honesty, courage, humanity, stoicism. In his poems, male are willing to struggle against terrible odds. They are strong but silent, having feeling and emotions. His men do not believe in violence, pride or anger. They also rule over their inferiors but with a kind heart. His men face odd situation but they possess great courage even though they are helpless. They have faith in themselves with nobility of spirit. Soldiers Kipling believes that it is an honor to serve in the country's army. Through he was unable to serve due to his weak eyesight he encouraged them through his poems. In his poem he describes the poor treatment of soldiers by the government.