PDP 7- The White Man's Burden

Author Bio: Rudyard Kipling was an English author born on December 30th 1865 in Bombay, India. He is well known for his works The Jungle Book and "Gunga Din." He moved to England as a young child but was told later in life that his family did not have enough money to send him to college. This resulted in him moving back to India, where he got a job for a local newspaper. However he was an insomniac, resulting in him roaming the streets at night. This led him into brothels and opium dens, giving him experience for his writing pieces. He then moved back to England with the money he earned from these pieces and traveled the United States. He eventually became the most wealthy writer in the world and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907. He passed away in 1936.

Date/Context: This poem was created for Queen Victoria and her jubilee in 1897. However it was later replaced with another one of his poems, "Recessional." This poem was eventually published nearly two years later under the name "Burden." It was made to fit American imperialist colonization of the Philippines, which was just won from Spain in the Spanish American War.

Summary: This poem expresses the idea of sending the best "white men" we can to the dark, uncivilized areas of the earth. Helping these native people with ending famines and disease. It shows English imperialism with its ideas of racial superiority over the uncivilized native people. The English should impose their civilized behaviors and institutions. There is also quite a bit of racism in this poem. For example the "Half-devil and half-child” people he said to have met. These people are brought towards the light but fight against the people "helping" them. Talking about the imperialism, Kipling expressed that the act needs patience and is very burdensome. He also talked about the people that work in the colonies need to understand that they will work hard with not much acknowledgement.