Rudyard Kipling: Difference between revisions

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''And, which is more, you'll be a man, my son.''|'''If...'''}}

 

 

He lost a son in [[World War One]] and was responsible for choosing two of the common phrases associated with Remembrance in the UK: "Their Name Liveth For Evermore" and "Known Unto God" (on the graves of Unknown Soldiers). And... referred to it in [[Double Entendre]] of all ways:

Tell them, because our fathers lied. |''Epitaphs of the War'', "Common Form"}}

 

* [[Alternate Character Interpretation]]: A common trick [[In-Universe|of Kipling's]] was to follow up a short story with a poem looking at it from the point of view of a secondary character or villain. The results can be startlingly different -- compare 'The Knife and the Naked Chalk' to 'The Song of the Men's Side'.

* [[Author Tract]]. Be grateful for the common workers and soldiers that hold the empire together, not least the soldiers who, just before Kipling's time had been looked down upon by middle-class British.

''But it's savior of his country when the guns begin to shoot'' }}

* [[Awful Truth]]

* [[Badass Creed]]: For Indian postmen in "The Overland Mail" (at night, ''in the jungle'', '''''uphill'''''):

In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail. }}

** For [[Manly Men Can Hunt|predators]] in [[The Jungle Book]]s:

''Come hear the call, good hunting all, that keep the Jungle Law.'' }}

* [[Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop]]: Not much, but... one meets [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]] in ''Steam Tactics''.

* [[Creator Breakdown]]: Kipling was an ardent imperialist. Then his only son died in [[World War One]], after dad had pulled some strings to get him into the service when medical conditions might otherwise have kept him out. His "Epitaphs of War" afterwards were extremely bitter about the nature of the conflict, including the famous "our fathers lied" segment.

** Not to mention:

''[[Heel Realization|What tale shall serve me here among]]''<br />

''[[Heel Realization|Mine angry and defrauded young?]]'' }}

* [[Discussed Trope|Discussed Tropes]]: Lots of. E.g.

** [[Demonization]]

'Oom you are paid to kill? }}

* [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!]]

* [[Mama Bear]]

* [[Manly Men Can Hunt]]: ''Captains Courageous'' and ''The Jungle Book''

* [[Merchant City]]: Peshawar in ''The Ballad of the King's Jest''

* [[Mighty Whitey]]: Sometimes. Mostly they get to meet white guys who aren't.

* [[Nostalgia Ain't Like It Used to Be]]: <s>Mocked</s> Discussed in ''The King''.

* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: Kipling poured over these enough of acid to dissolve a battleship or two. From ''Pagett, M.P.'' to ''Mesopotamia'' and ''Stellenbosh'' to ''The Lesson'':

[[Hit and Run Tactics|That horses are quicker than men afoot]], since two and two make four;<br />

And horses have four legs, and men have two legs, and two into four goes twice,<br />

** ''The Roman Centurion's Song'' is about a Roman Centurion pleading not to be sent home to Rome, as he has lived among the 'primitives' of Britain so long that he has gone native. Kipling was making the obvious comparison of how many British soldiers felt after living in India, and pointing out that once upon a time it was the Britons that were the subject of colonial ambitions by a 'more civilised' power and were viewed as savages by their colonial masters.

* [[The Paragon]]: "Kitchener's School" claims the English in general are this:

May be that they show all peoples their magic and ask no price in return.}}

* [[POV Sequel]]: Several, including ''The Pirates in England'' vs. ''A Pict Song''.

* [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]]: Played straight in Rikki Tikki Tavi (unlike ''[[The Jungle Book (novel)|The Jungle Book]]'')

* [[Retired Badass]]: Col. Dabney:

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: Invoked in ''Ballad of East and West'' when a British subaltern surrounded by Pathans warns the Pathan chieftain that his tribe will be ravaged by the British Army if he is killed.

* [[Running Gag]]: The ''Just So Stories'' has lots, most obviously "you must never forget the suspenders".

* [[Tall, Dark and Snarky|Tall Dark And]] <s>Snarky</s> ''Stalky''

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: A lot of characters, e.g. Pagett, M.P.:

[[Cool and Unusual Punishment|And I got him to sign an agreement vowing to stay till September.]]<br />

...[The summer temperature hits one hundred twenty] That was an end of the business. Pagett, the perjured, fled<br />

With a practical, working knowledge of "Solar Myths" in his head. }}

* [[Trickster]]: Several, including ''Stalky'' (''Stalky'' in Land & Sea Tales, ''Stalky & Co.'', ''A Deal in Cotton'' in Actions and Reactions, ''The Honours of War'' in A Diversity of Creatures), who fought anything unpleasant in [[Boarding School]] with tricks and little provocations. And won.

'''M'Turk:''' No explanation. Deprived of tea. Public disgrace before the house. It's dam' serious. }}

* [[Troperiffic]]: "[http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/three_decker.html The Three-Decker]" is a defense of the Troperific three-volume novel.

* [[True Art]]: [[In-Universe|''In the Neolithic Age'']] elaborately mocked [[Flame War|flamewars]] over styles.

** [[Lighter and Softer]]: ''The Light that Failed'':

** [[Executive Meddling]]: ''The Light that Failed'', the same incident.

* [[True Companions]]: ''The Galley-Slave'' is about the brotherhood between a crew of galley slaves.

* [[Unreliable Narrator]]: "The Gardener" has an omniscient [[Narrator]], but when he starts talking about what "every one in the village knew", you have to pay close attention to what he's actually saying.

* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: <s>Deserters</s> ''Wilful-Missing''.