Middle Period
The middle period of his poetry, through poems like "Recessional", "The White Man’s Burden" and "If", gained him the recognition and critical acclaim by which he claims the title of a poet in the world today. Each of these poems have led to a great deal of controversy and deserve special and individual attention. "Recessional" by far comes out the best among the three. On the strength of this poem alone T.S.Eliot called Kipling the greatest hymn writer. "Recessional" serves as a warning against England’s precarious position in trade and against the complacency setting in to the British Empire (Henn, T.R.) . Kipling warns about England’s "Dominion" where Australia and Canada act as its poles (Henn, T.R.). He expresses his fear about the possibility of England loosing "all [its] pomp of yesterday" and loosing all control over the colonies. Due to the phrase, "such boastings as the gentiles use, Or lesser breeds without the Law", critics have termed Kipling as an imperialist (Page, Norman). But as Kipling intends to discriminate between those who humbly submit to the law and those who arrogantly over-ride the law , the interpretation of this line as a discrimination between the people living in England and people living in colonies proves as a fatal error in analysis (Henn, T.R.). Thus only a conscious observer of political and social affairs can fathom the meaning of this poem at a deeper level than what meet the eye (Eliot, T.S.). In this way, "Recessional" forms one of the most important poems written by Kipling in his lifetime. Unlike "Recessional", "The White Man’s burden" depicts the advantages of the British empire and the positive side of imperialism through expressing the responsibilities of the empire towards its colonies (Page, Norman). As "Recessional" this poem too brought upon Kipling the title of a racist. But because in this verse he repeatedly emphasizes the injustice in rightfully regarding one superior to another on the basis of race or origin, the qualities of a racist abide far away from him (Maguills Critical Survey of Poetry). By writing phrases like "fill full the mouth of famine" and asking to "serve [their] captives’ need(s)" , Kipling points out the responsibility of England towards its colonies. Kipling’s belief, that England needs to keep on supporting and providing for the colonies, arises from his belief that providing independence to colonies at this point of time would lead to their ruin. Kipling also depicts the need for sending forth the best of men to serve the needs of England. Thus though imperialistic, this poem of Kipling emphasizes not race, but the obligation of Europeans and Americans to the oppressed people of the world (Maguills Critical Survey of Poetry). While "Recessional" and "The White Man’s burden" deal with politics, "If" deals with the virtues of humans. "If" ,written as a pendant to the story "Brothers Square-Toes," in Rewards and Fairies, deals with the misunderstandings and public pressures that confront statesmen, the ability to master of one’s dreams and thoughts and the capacity to take triumphs and loses in the stride without complaining (Henn, T.R.). This poem offers certain moral propositions - courage, reticent stoicism and supreme value of work (Henn, T.R.). Describing a person’s ability to resist one’s emotions even when a "loving [friend]" perpetrates an atrocity, as a virtue gives an ironical meaning to "loving friends" and suggests a quality of friendship less than the generally desired level, proves as the one flaw that plagues this poem (Henn, T.R.). This flaw offsets itself by the poem’s ability to relate to the moral values of plain-folks. Thus through these three poems Kipling achieves the pinnacle of his poetic genius displaying his ability to reach the simple-folk as well as the literary elite.