Hymn Before Action – Reviewed
Rudyard Kipling
The earth is full of anger,
The seas are dark with wrath,
The Nations in their harness
Go up against our path:
Ere yet we loose the legions —
Ere yet we draw the blade,
Jehovah of the Thunders,
Lord God of Battles, aid!
High lust and froward bearing,
Proud heart, rebellious brow —
Deaf ear and soul uncaring,
We seek Thy mercy now!
The sinner that forswore Thee,
The fool that passed Thee by,
Our times are known before Thee —
Lord, grant us strength to die!
For those who kneel beside us
At altars not Thine own,
Who lack the lights that guide us,
Lord, let their faith atone.
If wrong we did to call them,
By honour bound they came;
Let not Thy Wrath befall them,
But deal to us the blame.
From panic, pride, and terror,
Revenge that knows no rein,
Light haste and lawless error,
Protect us yet again.
Cloak Thou our undeserving,
Make firm the shuddering breath,
In silence and unswerving
To taste Thy lesser death!
Ah, Mary pierced with sorrow,
Remember, reach and save
The soul that comes to-morrow
Before the God that gave!
Since each was born of woman,
For each at utter need —
True comrade and true foeman —
Madonna, intercede!
E’en now their vanguard gathers,
E’en now we face the fray —
As Thou didst help our fathers,
Help Thou our host to-day!
Fulfilled of signs and wonders,
In life, in death made clear —
Jehovah of the Thunders,
Lord God of Battles, hear!
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Analysis
Rudyard Kipling’s Hymn Before Action is a poem about war, but it differs from the poetry of soldiers who experienced battle firsthand. It does not describe mud, blood, or horror. It does not question the justice of the war or the decisions of leaders. Instead, it is a poem of preparation—an appeal for strength, discipline, and the courage to face death without breaking. There is no expectation of survival, nor is there a promise of victory. The poem is a prayer, not for deliverance, but for the ability to endure.
The poem begins with an image of the world on the brink of war. The earth is angry, the sea is restless, and nations are marching. There is no stopping what is coming. The soldiers in the poem do not ask why they are fighting. They do not question their orders or expect to be spared. Instead, they turn to God, seeking aid—not to win the battle, but to withstand its trials. This sets the tone: this is not a poem about glory, but about duty.
The second stanza is a confession. The soldiers do not claim righteousness. They acknowledge their flaws—pride, rebellion, and carelessness. They admit they have neglected faith in the past, but now, with death looming, they seek God’s mercy. The most striking line in this section, “Lord, grant us strength to die!”, captures the poem’s essence. There is no request for protection or hope for a safe return. The soldiers understand that many of them will not survive, and they ask only for the fortitude to face their fate. This is what makes Hymn Before Action unique. It does not offer false hope. It speaks plainly: death is inevitable, and they must meet it with strength.
The poem also acknowledges the presence of men who do not share the same faith—those who “kneel beside us at altars not Thine own.” Instead of condemning them, the poem asks God to spare them from wrath. If calling them to war was a mistake, the blame should not be placed on them. Here, Kipling makes an important distinction: the soldiers are not responsible for the war itself. They are called to fight, and they answer, regardless of whether the cause is just.
A particularly revealing moment in the poem is when the soldiers ask not for protection from the enemy, but from themselves. War does not only kill—it changes people. It breeds fear, panic, and vengeance. The poem pleads for steadiness, for discipline, for the ability to resist hatred. It emphasizes that even in the midst of battle, soldiers must not become monsters. War has rules, and they must hold to them.
The most human moment comes in the appeal to Mary. Here, the soldiers are no longer warriors, but simply people—born, afraid, and vulnerable like everyone else. The plea, “Ah, Mary pierced with sorrow, remember, reach and save”, shifts the focus. It is not about battle anymore; it is about what comes after. The soldiers hope they will not be forgotten.
Kipling’s poem is structured and controlled, lacking excitement or rage. It does not celebrate war, nor does it depict its horrors. It simply prepares soldiers for what is coming. Fear and uncertainty do not matter. They must push forward. They must be ready.
This is where Hymn Before Action differs from the poetry of soldiers who truly experienced war. Kipling was not a soldier. He wrote from the outside, imagining war as something structured, something with purpose. His poem assumes that war is part of a greater plan and that soldiers must prepare themselves physically and spiritually. It is a poem about faith, duty, and the resolve to meet death.
By contrast, poets who lived through war saw it differently. Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth questions what kind of prayers the dead receive, answering with gunfire, battle sounds, and fading daylight. In Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen portrays soldiers as broken, exhausted, and coughing up blood—war is not noble, but sickness and death. Siegfried Sassoon’s poetry seethes with anger, targeting generals, governments, and those who romanticize war. His Base Details mocks officers who send young men to die while they remain safe, and Glory of Women attacks those at home who blindly praise war.
Kipling’s poem does not share this bitterness. It does not see war from the trenches, but from the moment before battle, when soldiers still believe in discipline and divine purpose. It is not a poem of disillusionment, but of preparation, belonging to a world where war can still be met with faith and courage.
Kipling himself believed in duty and sacrifice, supporting the British Empire. However, his view of war changed after his son John was killed in World War I. Afterward, his writing became more aware of war’s cost, more bitter. Hymn Before Action was written before that loss, in a time when war could still be imagined as something structured and meaningful.
The poem is powerful, but it does not capture the reality of war as experienced by those who fought. It does not describe gas attacks, trench foot, or the sight of friends dying in the mud. It does not ask what happens when prayers go unanswered. It only asks for strength. For soldiers preparing to fight, that may have been enough. For those who survived, who saw war for what it truly was, it would not have been.
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