‘The Gods of the Copybook Headings’ (p. 175). Sunday Pictorial, 26 October 1919; Inclusive Edition (1927). Copybook headings are basic truths or maxims set for a child to copy when learning to write. Kipling places these fundamental truths against the transient values of the market-place. ‘Cambrian’, ‘Feminian’, and ‘Carboniferous’ (lines 17, 21, 25) are not to be taken strictly as geological terms: they indicate areas of post-war discontent. Line 35, II Peter 2:22; line 36, wabbling, wobbling.
‘The Clerks and the Bells’ (p. 178). Nash’s Magazine, February 1920; Inclusive Edition (1927). In the years following the war Kipling became very interested in university education. He wrote several poems on the subject, though none stranger than this poem which presents a stereotypical image of a medieval Oxford devoted to prayer and study as well as to luxury and comfort, an image constantly challenged by the experiences of trench warfare which the students have brought back with them to university.
‘Lollius’ (p. 180). Q. Horati Flacci Carminum Liber Quintus (1920) by Kipling and Charles Graves. Kipling’s interest in the poetry of Horace dated from his schooldays, though it is mainly in his later work that the influence becomes apparent. He wrote several ‘imitations’ of Horace, and contributed ‘Lollius’ to this book which, purporting to be the non-existent Fifth Book of Horace’s Odes, was a gentle scholarly joke. The poem probably had some personal significance for Kipling: unlike Lollius (who was a wealthy, successful friend of Horace’s), Kipling steadfastly refused to accept any of the public honours and awards offered him by successive British governments. Line 3, nard, aromatic oil.
‘London Stone’ (p. 181). The Times, 10 November 1923. Inclusive Edition 1927. Written to commemorate Armistice Day, 11 November.
‘Doctors’ (p. 182). Dated 1923 in the Definitive Edition, where it was first published.
‘Chartres Windows’ (p. 182). Daily Telegraph, 15 April 1925; Inclusive Edition (1927). Written to accompany an article ‘Stained Glass in Western France’ by Perceval Landon, a close friend of Kipling’s. Line 5, purfled, decorated with; line 7, grozed, trimmed.
‘The Changelings’ (p. 183). Opening poem to the story ‘Sea Constables’, Debits and Credits (1926). R.N.V.R., Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Lines 1–2, before the sinking of passenger liners by German U-boats; line 18, pied, camouflaged; lines 19–20, Psalms 107:26.
‘Gipsy Vans’ (p. 184). Opening poem to the story ‘A Madonna of the Trenches’, Debits and Credits. Line 11, Gorgio, the Romany term for a non-gipsy; line 12, Romany, a gipsy and the gipsy language; line 35, ryes, Romany for gentlemen.
‘A Legend of Truth’ (p. 185). Opening poem to the story ‘A Friend of the Family’, Debits and Credits. The conflict between Truth (or Fact) and Fiction is based on Aristotle’s claim in the Poetics that poetry is more philosophical than history because it deals with universal rather than particular truths. Line 6, Pilate’s question, to Jesus, ‘What is truth?’ John 18:37–8; lines 7–8, Galileo, forced by the Church to renounce his great astronomical discoveries.
‘We and They’ (p. 187). Closing poem to the story ‘A Friend of the Family’, Debits and Credits.
‘Untimely’ (p. 188). Opening poem to the story ‘The Eye of Allah’, Debits and Credits. The story deals with the early invention of a microscope which is destroyed by the Church out of fear that it will challenge Christian faith, even though its inventor claims it will help cure illness and thus glorify the Church. Kipling’s point is that advanced knowledge is often stifled by fear and conformity until its ‘timely’ moment for recognition arrives. Line 12, to Earth, on earth prior to Sussex.
‘A Rector’s Memory’ (p. 189). St Andrews (1926), containing this poem; ‘A Memory’ by Walter de la Mare; and sketches by Malcolm Patterson, all contributed to help raise money for a student welfare scheme. Not collected until Definitive Edition. Kipling was Rector of the University of St Andrews, which is situated on the Fife coast facing the North Sea (lines 15–18), from 1922 to 1925.
‘Memories’ (p. 190). The Daily Telegraph, 3 November 1930; Inclusive Edition (1933). Kipling’s anger was aroused at a statement issued by Ramsay MacDonald’s second Labour government that foreign officials need not feel obliged to observe Armistice Day unless they wished to. Line 3, Mark 9:44; line 12, to appease Germany.
‘Gertrude’s Prayer’ (p. 191). The closing poem to the story ‘Dayspring Mishandled’, Limits and Renewals (1932), where it carries an explanatory note ‘Modernized from the “Chaucer” of Manallace’. In the story Manallace forges a fragment of Chaucer in order to fool, and by doing so have revenge on, a distinguished literary scholar: initially the revenge is successful but rebounds upon Manallace. Line 6, Dayspring, day-break; line 9, girt, girth; line 10, wried, twisted; line 11, gall, a sore or blister; wen, a wart or tumour; line 17, Jesu-Moder, Mother of Jesus.
‘Four-Feet’ (p. 191). Closing poem to the story ‘The Woman in his Life’, Limits and Renewals.
‘The Disciple’ (p. 192). Closing poem to the story ‘The Church that was at Antioch’, Limits and Renewals. Lines 35–6, Carpenter (Christ); Cameleer (Mohammed); Maya’s dreaming son (Buddha).
‘The Threshold’ (p. 193). Closing poem to the story ‘Unprofessional’, Limits and Renewals. The extremely complex story is about a group of modern medical researchers who discover that astrology has a key role to play in their treatment of a patient suffering from cancer: the poem pursues this theme of ‘professional’ and ‘unprofessional’ knowledge. Ionia, c. 1000 BC, situated on the coast of Asia Minor (now Turkey), initiated the developments that came to typify ancient Greek civilization. The philosophers of Ionia (usually referred to as ‘pre-Socratic’) sought to trace the laws of the universe to one physical source (‘Matter’, line 29), thus dispelling earlier concepts of knowledge founded on primitive superstition. The Ionians were in turn superseded, and their sense of the wholeness or oneness of human experience rejected, by a resurgence of superstition and the fragmentation of modern knowledge.
‘The Expert’ (p. 195). Closing poem to the story ‘Beauty Spots’, Limits and Renewals. The story is humorous in tone, the poem serious. The main theme of the poem – that young men trained in violence in wartime are capable of applying their violent skills to the very different circumstances of civilian life – has become a major concern in studies of the after-effects of more recent wars. Line 17, No-Man’s Land, the deserted, devastated areas of land between the trenches of conflicting armies.
‘The Storm Cone’ (p. 196). Morning Post, 23 May 1932; Inclusive Edition (1933). Throughout the 1920s and early 1930s Kipling kept a close watch on the rehabilitation of post-war Germany and the rise of Nazism. This poem is one of several public pronouncements that there can no longer be any doubt about Germany’s expansionist and militaristic intentions. Storm cones, black canvas cones hoisted at coastguard stations to warn of gales approaching. Line 17, They fall and whelm, the waves sink and rise again, threatening to engulf the ship, in this instance, Britain, the Ship of State.
‘The Bonfires’ (p. 197). Morning Post, 13 November 1933, as ‘Bonfires on the Ice’; Definitive Edition. Published to coincide with two significant events – Armistice Sunday (the previous day) and the announcement of the results of a referendum in Germany which gave overwhelming support to Hitler. Line 15, Bobtailed Flush, a poker hand consisting of four cards of the same suit, one short of a ‘full’ flush; line 18, Demos, the people; line 19, the Fenris Wolf, Fenrir or Fenrisulfr, savage wolf of Norse mythology and a symbol of evil; line 22, Cockatrice, a legendary serpent or basilisk, able to kill by a glance.
‘The Appeal’ (p. 198). Definitive Edition.
Index of Titles
‘A stone’s throw out on either hand’ 12
Absent-Minded Beggar, The 88
Appeal, The 198
‘Back to the Army Again’ 56
‘Before a midnight breaks in storm’ 104
Benefactors, The 164
Betrothed, The 13
Bonfires,
The 197
Bridge-Guard in the Karroo 91
Broken Men, The 106
Cells 39
Changelings, The 183
Chant-Pagan 113
Charm, A 129
Chartres Windows 182
Christmas in India 10
Clerks and the Bells, The 178
Cold Iron 130
Conundrum of the Workshops, The 31
Craftsman, The 163
Cruisers 84
Dane-Geld 145
Danny Deever 17
Declaration of London, The 139
Derelict, The 74
Dirge of Dead Sisters 111
Disciple, The 192
Doctors 182
En-Dor 161
English Flag, The 35
Epitaphs of the War 168 Actors 175
Batteries out of Ammunition 172
Beginner, The 171
Bombed in London 171
Bridegroom, The 174
‘Canadians’ 170
Common Form 172
Convoy Escort 173
Coward, The 169
Dead Statesman, A 172
Destroyers in Collision 173
Drifter off Tarentum, A 173
‘Equality of Sacrifice’ 168
Ex-Clerk 169
Favour, The 170
Grave Near Cairo, A 170
Hindu Sepoy in France 169
Inscription on Memorial in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 170
Journalists 175
Native Water-Carrier (M.E.F.) 171
Obedient, The 172
Only Son, An 169
Pelicans in the Wilderness 170
R.A.F. (Aged Eighteen) 171
Raped and Revenged 174
Rebel, The 172
Refined Man, The 171
Salonikan Grave 174
Servant, A 168
Shock 169
Sleepy Sentinel, The 171
Son, A 168
Unknown Female Corpse 173
V.A.D. (Mediterranean) 175
Wonder, The 169
Exiles’ Line, The 42
Expert, The 195
Fabulists, The 158
Female of the Species, The 140
‘For All We Have and Are’ 148
‘For to Admire’ 49
‘Ford o’ Kabul River’ 33
Four-Feet 191
French Wars, The 146
Gertrude’s Prayer 191
Gethsemane 163
Gipsy Vans 184
Glory of the Garden, The 147
Gods of the Copybook Headings, The 175
Gunga Din 25
Harp Song of the Dane Women 119
Holy War, The 155
Hyaenas, The 160
‘I have eaten your bread and salt’ 16
‘I keep six honest serving-men’ 100
If– 134
In the Neolithic Age 45
Islanders, The 95
‘I’ve never sailed the Amazon’ 100
Jobson’s Amen 156
Justice 159
King, The 73
Ladies, The 76
Last Chantey, The 47
Law of the Jungle, The 51
Legend of Truth, A 185
Lesson, The 93
Lichtenberg 116
Lollius 180
London Stone 181
‘Look, you have cast out Love!’ 12
Looking-Glass, The 132
Lovers’ Litany, The 8
McAndrew’s Hymn 59
Mandalay 27
Memories 190
‘Men that fought at Minden, The’ 67
Mesopotamia 154
Mine Sweepers 150
‘My Boy Jack’ 152
Natural Theology 166
‘Our Fathers of Old’ 137
Overland Mail, The 9
Plea of the Simla Dancers, The 6
‘Poor Honest Men’ 135
‘Power of the Dog, The’ 126
Private Ortheris’s Song 20
Prophets at Home 121
Public Waste 5
‘Pussy can sit by the fire and sing’ 101
Puzzler, The 127
Question, The 153
Rabbi’s Song, The 128
Recessional 81
Rector’s Memory, A 189
‘Rimini’ 120
River’s Tale, The 142
Road-Song of the Bandar-Log 58
Roman Centurion’s Song, The 144
School Song, A 86
Second Voyage, The 105
Sergeant’s Weddin’, The 78
Settler, The 102
Smuggler’s Song, A 121
Soldier, Soldier 22
Song of Travel, A 125
Sons of Martha, The 123
Stellenbosch 117
Storm Cone, The 196
Story of Uriah, The 4
Sussex 108
‘The beasts are very wise’ 38
‘The Camel’s hump is an ugly lump’ 99
‘The ’Eathen’ 70
‘The Men that fought at Minden’ 67
‘The Power of the Dog’ 126
‘The stream is shrunk – the pool is dry’ 69
‘The Trade’ 151
Three-Decker, The 54
Threshold, The 193
‘Tin Fish’ 150
Tommy 18
Two-Sided Man, The 90
Undertaker’s Horse, The 2
Untimely 188
Vampire, The 80
Way through the Woods, The 133
We and They 187
‘We are very slightly changed’ 1
When Earth’s Last Picture is Painted 44
‘When ’Omer smote ’is bloomin’ lyre’ 76
White Man’s Burden, The 82
Widow at Windsor, The 23
Widow’s Party, The 40
Winners, The 16
Young British Soldier, The 29
Index of First Lines
A fool there was and he made his prayer 80
A stone’s throw out on either hand 12
A tinker out of Bedford 155
Across a world where all men grieve 159
After the burial-parties leave 160
Ah! What avails the classic bent 164
Ah, would swift ships had never been, for then we ne’er had found 175
As I pass through my incarnations, in every age and race 175
As our mother the Frigate, bepainted and fine 84
’Ave you ’eard o’ the Widow at Windsor 23
Before a midnight breaks in storm 104
Blessèd be the English and all their ways and works 156
Body and Spirit I surrendered whole 169
Brethren, how shall it fare with me 153
By the Laws of the Family Circle ’tis written in letters of brass 5
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ eastward to the sea 27
Call me not false, beloved 174
Colour fulfils where Music has no power 182
Daily, though no ears attended 172
Dawn off the Foreland – the young flood making 150
Death favoured me from the first, well knowing I could not endure 170
Dim Dawn behind the tamarisks – the sky is saffron-yellow 10
‘E was warned agin ’er 78
Excellent herbs had our fathers of old 137
Eyes of grey – a sodden quay 8
Faithless the watch that I kept: now I have none to keep 171
‘Farewell, Romance!’ the Cave-men said 73
Father, Mother, and Me 187
For all we have and are 148
For Fog and Fate no charm is found 173
For things we never mention 106
From little towns in a far land, we came 170
Full thirty foot she towered from waterline to rail 54
God gave all men all earth to love 108
God of our fathers, known of old 81
Gods of the Nile, should this stout fellow here 170
Gold is for the mistress – silver for the maid 130
‘Have you news of my boy Jack?’ 152
He from the wind-bitten North with ship and companions descended 173
He that hath a Gospel 192
Headless, lacking foot and hand 173
Here we go in a flung festoon 58
Here, where my fresh-turned furrows run 102
I ate my fill of a whale that died 166
I could not dig: I dared not rob 172
I could not look on Death, which being known 169
I have done mostly what most men do 191
I have eaten your bread and salt 16
I have slain none except my Mother. She 169
I have watched a thousand days 174
I keep six honest serving-men 100
I walk my beat before London Town 143
‘I was a “Have” ’ 168
I was a shepherd to fools 173
I was of delicate mind. I went aside for my needs 171
I was the staunchest of our fleet 74
I went into a public-’ouse to get a pint o’ beer 18
If any mourn us in the workshop, say 172
If any question why we died 172
If I had clamoured at Thy Gate 172
If I have given you delight 198
If Thought can reach to Heaven 128
If you can keep your head when all about you 134
If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse’s feet 121
I’m ’ere in a ticky ulster an’ a broken billycock ’at 56
In the Name of the Empress of India, make way 9
In the Neolithic Age savage warfare did I wage 45
In their deepest caverns of limestone 193
It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation 145
I’ve a head like a concertina: I’ve a tongue like a button-stick 39
I’ve never sailed the Amazon 100
I’ve taken my fun where I’ve found it 76
Jack Barrett went to Quetta 4
Kabul town’s by Kabul river 33
Laughing through clouds, his milk-teeth still unshed 171
Legate, I had the news last night – my cohort ordered home 144
Let us admit it fairly, as a business people should 93
Rudyard Kipling: Selected Poems Page 27