Selected Poems (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics S.)

by Rudyard Kipling (Author), Peter Keating (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1993

  $3.27

  Rudyard Kipling's reputation as Britain's unofficial Poet Laureate has obscured the true nature of his achievement. Far from being an Establishment figure, he was a fiercely independent poet, opposed to the dominant political and literary leanings of his age. His poems range from exhilarating celebrations of British expansion, through vivid character sketches of soldiers and seamen, to political invective, artistic manifestos, and enchanting poems for children. In this new selection, Kipling's poems are presented in chronological order to reveal the scope and development, as well as the originality, of his work. Opening with Kipling's satirization of the British in India, it closes with his warning against the rise of Nazi Germany.

• New

  Paperback
  2001

  $13.85

  Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is often regarded as the unofficial Laureate of the British Empire. Yet his writing reveals a ferociously independent figure at times violently opposed to the dominant political and literary tendencies of his age. Arranged in chronological order, this diverse selection of his poetry shows the development of Kipling's talent, his deepening maturity and the growing sombreness of his poetic vision. Ranging from early, exhilarating celebrations of British expansion overseas, including 'Mandalay' and 'Gunga Din', to the dignified and inspirational 'If -' and the later, deeply moving 'Epitaphs of the War' - inspired by the death of Kipling's only son - it clearly illustrates the scope and originality of his work. It also offers a compelling insight into the Empire both at its peak and during its decline in the early years of the twentieth century.