Rudyard Kipling: Difference between revisions

The Kiplings loved life in Vermont and might have lived out their lives there, were it not for two incidents—one of global politics, the other of family discord—that hastily ended their time there. By the early 1890s, Great Britain and [[Venezuela]] had long been locking horns over a border dispute involving [[British Guiana]]. Several times, the U.S. had offered to arbitrate, but in 1895 the new American Secretary of State [[Richard Olney]] upped the ante by arguing for the American "right" to arbitrate on grounds of sovereignty on the continent (see the [[Olney interpretation]] as an extension of the [[Monroe Doctrine]]).<ref name=gilmour/> This raised hackles in Britain and before long the incident had snowballed into a major [[Anglo-American relations#Venezuelan and Canadian border disputes|Anglo-American crisis]], with talk of war on both sides.

"Book-ending" this achievement was the publication of two connected poetry and story collections: ''[[Puck of Pook's Hill]]'' and ''[[Rewards and Fairies]]'' in 1906 and 1910 respectively. The latter contained the poem "[[If—]]". In a 1995 [[BBC]] opinion poll, it was voted Britain's favourite poem. This exhortation to self-control and stoicism is arguably Kipling's most famous poem.

Kipling sympathised with the anti-[[Home Rule]] stance of [[Irish Unionists]]. He was friends with [[Edward Carson]], the Dublin-born leader of [[Ulster Unionism]], who raised the [[Ulster Volunteers]] to oppose "Rome Rule" in Ireland. Kipling wrote the poem "Ulster" in 1912 (?) reflecting this. The poem reflects on [[Ulster Day]] (28 September 1912) when half a million people signed the [[Ulster Covenant]]. Kipling was a staunch opponent of [[Bolshevism]], a position he shared with his friend [[Rider Haggard]]. The two had bonded upon Kipling's arrival in London in 1889 largely on the strength of their shared opinions, and they remained lifelong friends.

Many have wondered why he was never made Poet Laureate. Some claim that he was offered the post during the interregnum of 1892-96 and turned it down. It also appears—surprisingly—that [[Queen Victoria]] disapproved of him{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}.

At the beginning of World War I, like many other writers, Kipling wrote pamphlets which enthusiastically supported Britain's war aims.

Many older editions of Rudyard Kipling's books have a [[swastika]] printed on their covers associated with a picture of an elephant carrying a lotus flower. Since the 1930s this has raised the possibility of Kipling being mistaken for a [[Nazism|Nazi]]-sympathiser, though the Nazi party did not adopt the swastika until 1920. Kipling's use of the swastika, however, was based on the sign's Indian meaning of good luck and well-being. He used the swastika symbol in both right- and left-facing orientations, and it was in general use at the time.<ref>Schliemann, H, ''Troy and its remains'', London: Murray, 1875, pp. 102, 119–20</ref><ref>Sarah Boxer. "[http://faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=606 One of the world's great symbols strives for a comeback]". ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 29, 2000.</ref> Even before the Nazis came to power, Kipling ordered the engraver to remove it from the printing block so that he should not be thought of as supporting them. Less than one year before his death Kipling gave a speech (titled "An Undefended Island") to [[The Royal Society of St George]] on 6 May 1935 warning of the danger [[Nazi Germany]] posed to Britain.<ref>Rudyard Kipling, ''War Stories and Poems'' (Oxford Paperbacks, 1999), pp. xxiv-xxv.</ref>