Shirley Satterfield

Rudyard Kipling: The Empire’s Anglo-Indian Writer

Indian born, British citizen Rudyard Kipling was an imperialist leaning writer which makes him controversial in our own post colonial times, but he was a wildly popular writer in his own time, For he wrote such endearing stories as “The Jungle Book” about a boy raised by wolves in the wild and charming poems about India such as” Mandalay” revealing the exotic Far East through the wide, beholding eyes of a British soldier in love with an oriental woman.Kipling was such an accomplished writer in his season that he was the first European to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907 and was the youngest man at the age of 41 to do so to date.

Kipling was born in Bombay, India on December 30, 1865 to an upper middle class family that had certain important connections that would later help him in his writing career, His father was John Lockwood Kipling. a renown artist in India who curated the Lahore Museum. Rudyard Kipling spent his early childhood in India, but at age 6 he and his younger sister were taken by their parents to England and placed in a foster home in order to be educated there, But unfortunately young Kipling was abused and neglected in that home, so his childhood cannot be described as anything less than wretched. Upon being freed from this abusive home by a kind, discerning great aunt, Kipling went onto finish his education in a rather second rate boarding school called United Services College in Devon, thus because of his lagging grades he was not accepted on a scholarship to attend Oxford, and his parents could not afford to pay his education there. So Kipling’s father pulled some strings to land his young son a job as an assistant editor on a local newspaper in Lahore, and thus young Kipling set sail for India on October 20, 1882 and his professional writing career commenced with India being his primary inspiration.

During his seven years of tenure at the newspaper, Kipling kept a journal. wrote short stories, novels and poems and became a prolific well rounded writer, and in 1889 he returned to England to live in London, the literary hub of the English speaking world where he was a success with his most famous novel entitled “Kim”. However he became more and more controversial among qriters having written a poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden” to encourage America’s imperialism during the Philippine/American War and as British imperialism began to diminish around the world. Kipling felt that the Anglo culture was the superior culture of the world with certain custodial responsibilities for the rest pf humanity as expressed in the following poem.

The White Man’s Burden

Take up the White Man’s burden—

Send forth the best ye breed—

Go send your sons to exile

To serve your captives’ need

To wait in heavy harness

On fluttered folk and wild—

Your new-caught, sullen peoples,

Half devil and half child

Take up the White Man’s burden

In patience to abide

To veil the threat of terror

And check the show of pride;

By open speech and simple

An hundred times made plain

To seek another’s profit

And work another’s gain

Take up the White Man’s burden—

And reap his old reward:

The blame of those ye better

The hate of those ye guard—

The cry of hosts ye humour

(Ah slowly) to the light:

“Why brought ye us from bondage,

“Our loved Egyptian night?”

Take up the White Man’s burden-

Have done with childish days-

The lightly proffered laurel,

The easy, ungrudged praise.

Comes now, to search your manhood

Through all the thankless years,

Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,

The judgment of your peers!

………………………………………………………………..

The sentiments in this poem show Kipling as to have been a man who was destined to be left behind by time, and he died on January 18, 1936 ar age 70.

Be sure and sign-up for your membership at DailyWisdomWords and link your content to all major social media platforms. Only ten dollars for lifetime membership.

We are in the season of Easter when we turn our minds to the rebirth of Spring and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And both of these compelling themes can be found commonly is Western literature and the Bible.

For instance Walt Whitman wrote extensively about the physical rebirth of all things dead through both nature and chemistry. In the poem “Song of Self” Whitman tells the reader that after he dies you will find him “under your bootstraps” living in the grasses and the flowers of the field. In the poem entitled “Compost” he writes about the how the actual physical substances of the dead can be found in a lifegiving soil that should make you sick for all the bodies throughout the ages buried in it. He wrote;

Behold this compost! behold it well!

Perhaps every mite has once form’d part of a sick person-

Behold!

The grass of spring covers the prairies…

The resurrection of wheat appears with pale visage out of it’s graves.

And Whitman goes on to declare, “What chemistry!” marking this as a strictly physical rebirth  through the forces of nature and not a spiritual one.

However, there was also the death and rebirth brought about by epiphany as described in the ancient literature of Bible, and it was Jesus that spoke of a spiritual rebirth by being born again “by the Spirit”. This is also a rebirth that follows a kind of a death to oneself when you “deny yourself and take up your cross (an instrument of death} and follow” him. In other words the devotee of Jesus Christ turns away from his old life and is born again through the epiphany of having a sudden change of heart led by the Spirit outside himself, and which is greater than himself. Thus the rebirth for the Christian adherent is a spiritual one and not the physical one which is brought about by natural means which Whitman wrote about, and the actually physical resurrection of the body at the end of the age, according to the teachings of the Bible, is also caused by supernatural means rather than by the natural processes of nature as described by Whitman. Thus, I think Walt Whitman was something akin to a modern day scientist. who only believes in the forces of nature, in that respect.

Happy Easter and be sure to sign up for your membership to dailywisdomwords,com to post and comment here, Only ten dollars for your lifetime membership.

Mahatma Gandhi: The Wise-man from the East and His Writings

Mohandas Karamchald Gandhi. born on October 2, 1869 in Guiarat, India was not only an anti-colonial activist and the liberator of his country from Great Britain, but he also left behind some important writings that have greatly influenced civil rights leaders in modern times. “The Story of My Experiments with Truth” is an auto-biography that chronicles the events of his amazing life with his experimental experience of living like an English gentleman in London to his return to his own Indian cultural roots after suffering the violent effects of apartheid and racism while living in South Africa.

Another book entitled “Selected Writings of Mahatma Gandhi” is an exhaustive collection of his important writings collected and compiled by Ronald Duncan which is divided into nine long parts and is available as a free download online. But the first part only entitled “The Gospel of Selfless Action” will be discussed here as it perfectly embodies the essence of this modern political saint, for Gandhi said “My life is my message.” And a selfless life he led indeed.

Born to a modest Hindu family in the varna of Viashya (or the working class), Gandhi was given in a marriage arranged by his parents at the young age of 13 to a 14 year old girl named Kasturbai Kapadia, but both children were allowed to continue to live with their parents at that young age. But upon graduation from high school, Gandhi decided to continue his education as a law student in Great Britain much to the consternation of his nervous family who feared that the young man might be corrupted by Western culture. However, a devout Hindu, young Gandhi took vow of chastity and made a promise to not drink alcohol or eat meat, a vow that the pious young man dutifully kept.

Upon graduation from law school the young man was called to the bar at age 22, and he moved back to India to practice law but was not very successful there. So he moved himself and his young family to South Africa where he was called upon to represent a Muslim Indian merchant who lived there, and it was in South Africa where he experienced the worst racial discrimination, often involving beatings and violence because of the color of his skin, and it was there in South Africa where he became a political activist for change.

In the year 1915 he moved back to India where he galvanized the common people to seek independence for his country from colonial Great Britain through non-violent non-cooperation with the British government. Thus he led his people in protest though fasting (“fasting unto death”) refusing to participate in British culture by the wearing of traditional hand woven Indian garments and the absolute boycott on buying Western goods. In 1921 Gandhi assumed the leadership of the Indian National Congress and on August 15, 1947 India was granted it’s independence, but was, much to the sorrow of Gandhi divided into two nations, Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan after serious religious violence broke out between the two groups.

In the “Selected Writings of Mahatma Gandhi” Gandhi makes a commentary in the section entitled “On the Gospel of a Selfless Life” about the writings of the Gita, a book that uses warfare as a metaphor for the interior struggles that play out in the hearts of men and Gandhi wrote concerning it, “ In this great work the Gita is the crown. Its second chapter instead of teaching the rules of physical warfare, tells us how a perfected man is to be known,” He also described the Gita as a book about “the duel that perpetually went on in the hearts of mankind,” between good and evil. Having had a devoutly religious mother, Gandhi, being a very deeply sensitive and spiritual human-being himself, was greatly influenced by the Vedic texts, the Quran, the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Thus was Gandhi a nonviolent protester of racial and political injustice, but unfortunately was himself shot to death by a fellow countryman, who was a much more radical protester in his beliefs, on January 30, 1948. So ironically this gentle man of peace and justice died a violent death and Prime Minister Nehru said of him in his speech afterwards, “Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our live and there is darkness everywhere…Our beloved leader Bapu as we called him, the father of the nation is no more,,,” but we can clearly see that his thoughts lived on generations later through the work of such leaders as Martin Luther King in America and Nelson Mandela in South Africa and will continue to live on through his writings and the writings of others about him. He left a living legacy.

Become a member today at DailyWisdomWords to post comments and content here. Only $10.00 one time membership fee for a lifetime.

Ireland: Land of Mossy Mists and Ancient Myth

Similar to Greece, Ireland is also a land of ancient myth and folklore. But the difference between myth and folklore is that folklore has its roots in the popular music, dance and ballads of the culture, but myth involves the stories about the divine and are considered sacred by the ancient peoples. However, these ancient Celtic myths were not actually written down until the advent of Christianity because with Christianity, a written language and an alphabet was introduced to the indigenous people of isle. And until then these stories were handed down by an oral tradition called Bealoideas.

Irish myth is divided into four basic cycles, three being per-Christian and one being medieval. These four cycles are the Mythological cycle, the Ulster cycle, the Fenian cycle and the Historical cycle. The Mythological cycle are the tales of the ancient Celtic gods and goddesses and the godlike peoples that originally invaded the isle called the Tuatha De Danann, who were the supernatural people of the goddess Danu. The Ulster cycle are the legends of the many heroes of eastern Ulster in Northern Ireland, and the Fenian cycle tells of the trials, tribulations, and exploits of one hero Finn and his army called the Fianna. These stories were written in verse form and are also found in Scotland and the Isle of Mann. The Historical cycle is also known as the Cycle of Kings which chronicles the stories of the legendary kings of Ireland in the Middle Ages. And these particular stories were recorded by the court poets serving the kings in those days. And of course they mixed the truth with fictional embellishments in order to please the kings because, no doubt, a king could order “Off with his head.” if the great man was not pleased.

Some more gods and goddesses of the original Mythological cycle include Aine, goddess of love, summer and prosperity, Lir, god of the sea, Brigid, goddess of healing, fertility, and poetry, Dian Cecht, god of healing, and a whole other pantheon of gods whose names I will never be able to pronounce. The ancient people of Ireland have their roots in a polytheistic religion similar to the Greeks and the Romans and other ancient peoples of the world, with the Jews being the only ancient people, barring the Egyptians for a short period of time, who only had one God.

Be sure and sign up for your membership today at DailyWisdomWords to rate comment on this post. Only $10.00 for a lifetime membership in this wonderful writing community!

Narrative Poetry Tells The Story

Aristotle divided poetry into three main categories: narrative, dramatic, such as we see in Shakespeare’s plays in which character development is the the thing rather than plot, and lyric poetry. And, of course, these three basic forms can overlap as in a lyrical poem that is also a narrative.

A narrative poem is defined as a poem that tells a story. It can be really long like a novel or really short like a lyrical poem, but it always tells a story. There are four types of narrative poems and that is the epic, such as we find in Greek mythology about the life of a hero, like Hercules, for instance, ballads, idylls, which are basically pastoral in subject matter, and lays (lyrical poetry) which are by and large autobiographical and written in the first person.

A good example of an English epic poem would be Milton’s “Paradise Lost” which contains a lengthy complicated plot about what was going on in heaven, in hell, and on earth between Adam and Eve, the Devil, and God during the fall of Man. An epic poem always has a plot, and a good example is the epic poem entitled Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet, in which a young Acadian woman named Evangeline searches for her long lost lover. Gabriel, who was lost during the deportation of the Acadian people by the British from Canada. The poem follows her life as she searches for her lover all through the thirteen American colonies, but in vain, until she finally settles down in Philadelphia and becomes a Sister’s of Mercy nun.

Another kind of a narrative can be found in a ballad which is a poem set to music and sometimes has refrains. This form was first developed by the French and used as dance songs. But this form became very popular in England and Ireland in the latter part of the middle ages and finally in America. A good example of an American ballad would be Johnny Cash’s classic country song “A Boy Named Sue” in which he tells the story of a young boy’s rough upbringing.

Thank you
Well, my daddy left home
When I was three
And he didn’t leave very much to my ma and me
Except this ole guitar and
An empty bottle of booze
Now I don’t blame him
‘Cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that my daddy ever did
Was before he left he wanted to
Name me Sue
He musta thought
That it was quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from lots a folks
Seems I had to fight my whole life through
Some gal would giggle and I’d turn red
And some guy’d laugh and I’d bust his head
I’ll tell ya, life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean
My fist got hard and my wits got keen
Roamed from town to town
To hide my shame
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
I’d search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man that gave
Me that awful name
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I’d just hit town and my throat was dry
I thought I’d stop and have myself a brew
At an old saloon on a street of mud
There at a table dealin’ stud
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue
Well I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn out picture that my mother had
Knew that scar on
His cheek and his evil eye
He was big and bent and grey and old
And I looked at him and my
Blood ran cold, and I said
“My name is Sue! How do you do?
Now you gonna die!”
Well, I hit him hard right
Between the eyes
And he went down but to my surprise
Came up with a knife and
Cut off a piece of my ear
Then I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through
The wall and into the street
Kickin’ and a gougin’ in the mud
And the blood and the beer
Well I tell ya, I’ve fought tougher men
But I really can’t remember when
He kicked like a mule and
He bit like a crocodile
I heard him laugh and
Then I heard him cuss
And he reached for his gun but
I pulled mine first
He stood there lookin’ at me and
I saw him smile
And he said
“Son, this world is rough
And if a man’s gonna make
It he’s gotta be tough
And I know I wouldn’t be
There to help you along
So I gave you that name
And I said goodbye
I knew you’d have to get tough or die
And it’s that name that helped
To make you strong.”
He said, “Now you just fought
One heck of a fight
And I know you hate me
And ya got the right
To kill me now and I wouldn’t
Blame you if you do
But you oughta thank me before I die
For the gravel in your gut
And the spit in the eye
‘Cause I’m the –
That named you Sue.”
Yeah, what could I do?
I got all choked up and threw down my gun
Called him my pa and he called me his son
And I came away with a
Different point of view
And I think about him now and then
Every time I try and every time I win
And if I ever have a boy
I’ll name him
Bill or George or Frank
Anything dam thing but Sue!
Hate that name

The idyllic poem is a narrative that glorifies nature and bucolic scenes in the country, and a lay or a lyrical poem (a short rhymed and metered poem which can be set to music, and is often biographical, had it’s inception in ancient Greece when such poetry was accompanied by the music of the lyre, Robert Frost was America’s great idyllic poet who wrote about all things county, and the elements of both the lyric and the idyllic poem can be found in his popular poem “The Road Not Taken”.

The Road Not Taken 
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This short lyrical poem is the story of a man who has a decision to make that has permanent ramifications set in ther most bucolic of scenes, the woods. But another short idyllic poem that has all the elements of a lyrical poem in that it begins with the word “I” and is a snapshot of a story is as follows:

I watch fields, as nature
Invites pastoral bliss….
Irises and oaks glow
Imbued with morn’s fresh soil;
Igniting rural charm
In mind’s eye – O hometown
Illumines peace- earth’s gift!

These different form of narrative poetry can certainly cross over with the elements of one form being found in another.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Writer’s and poets, be sure and sign up to be a member of dailywisdomwords.com to link your longer writings to Twitter and other major social media sites, Only $10.00 for a lifetime membership.