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 gainTake up the White Man’s burden –
The savage wars of peace –
Fill full the mouth of famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hopes to nought.Take up the White Man’s burden –
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper –
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead !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 –
Ye dare not stoop to less –
Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.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!
Summary of The White Man’s Burden
- Popularity of “The White Man’s Burden”: The original draft of the poem was intended to celebrate the regal Diamond Jubilee of the UK royalty. It appeared in 1897 but later turned out to be a piece of guidance for the American troops conquering the Philippines. Therefore, it underwent revision accordingly in 1899 and reappeared with some changes. That is why it shows that civilizing the world is the responsibility of the White Man. Although some critics and even the world at large have taken this burden as the spread of Christianity, it is mostly considered the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race and civilization. The popularity of the entire poem lies in the phrase, the White Man’s burden, in that people know this phrase more than the poem itself.
- “The White Man’s Burden” As a Representative of Western Superiority: This is indeed the success of the Anglo-Saxon race in general and the entire European white race in specific that despite plunder, massacres, the Holocaust, world wars, and colonialism, they still think it their duty to rule the world and civilize the other nations. This still continues what Kipling has termed the White Man’s burden almost a century and a quarter ago. Using the phrase as a refrain “Take up the White’s Burden”, Kipling advises the American troops deployed in the Philippines to send their best sons to spread the message of the cultured world. His advice comprises moderate behavior, sanguine actions, best treatment, equal opportunities, and rewards for the collaborators.
He presumes that the people would call the deliverer with the phrase why they have freed them from the bondage and asks them not to become too hasty or touchy or irritating. His final word is to respect the freedom of the people as they are going to teach them to rule themselves and show that your God is the best one. This shows the wisdom of your predecessors. - Major Themes in “The White Man’s Burden”: Superiority of western civilization, morality, and good manners are three important themes of the poem “The White Man’s Burden.” The poet is of the view it is the superiority of the white race that the western world has taken up the responsibility of teaching civilization to the world. The world order based on their conceptual framework bears witness to this argument. Yet, the world has also witnessed barbarism and the Holocaust – the modern blessings of the same civilization. It was due to this priggishness that the White Man has taken the burden of civilizing the entire world. This also means the superiority of the moral framework of the best that makes people moderate, temperate, and sanguine behavior that bears all the accusations and still demonstrates the superiority of western theology, civilization, social setup, and moral framework. This also links the entire social fabric to mannerisms.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The White Man’s Burden
Rudyard Kipling used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices he uses here are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “Take up the White Man’s burden” and the sound of /o/ in “Go send your sons to exile.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /h/ in “heavy harness” and /f/ in “fill full” and again /s/ in “silent sullen.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “Ye dare not stoop to less” and the sound of /s/ in “The silent sullen peoples.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Rudyard Kipling used imagery in this poem, such as “The silent sullen peoples”, “Take up the White Man’s burden” and “The roads ye shall not tread.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between different objects. The poet used some abstract ideas such as freedom, weariness, and praise as having some feelings and physical presence, showing them metaphors.
- Personification: It means to use abstract ideas as if they have emotions and life of their own such as freedom, weariness, and praise, as used as personifications in the poem.
- Rhetorical Question: It means to use questions not to get answers but to stress the main idea, theme, or point. The poet has used rhetorical questions, such as “Why brought ye us from bondage / “Our loved Egyptian night?”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as wild, famine, sickness, profit, and gain to show the superiority of western civilization.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The White Man’s Burden
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows very good use of elevated, grand, and humanistic diction.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Rudyard Kipling used end rhyme in this poem, such as breed/need, wild/child, and plain/gain.
- Repetition: It means the re-usage of some words or phrases for emphasis on some point. The phrase or verse “Take up the White Man’s burden” show the use of this poetic device.
- Refrain: It means the occurrence of a verse in successive stanzas in such a way that it makes up the entire theme of the poem. The verse “Take up the White Man’s burden” is, therefore, a refrain.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABCBDEFE rhyme scheme in each stanza, and this pattern continues until the end.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are seven stanzas in this poem, with each comprising eight lines, an octave.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a religious and didactic tone, but it turns to ethical, assertive, and even superior at times.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote the superiority of western civilization.
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!
