Questions About Rudyard Kipling: Selected Poems (Phoenix Poetry)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Rudyard Kipling, please sign up.

Answered Questions (3)

Can someone provide the works included in this book, or a Table of Contents?

Johnny The exact order and contents can and will vary depending on the edition (though it should be broadly the same), but this is the Table of Contents per …moreThe exact order and contents can and will vary depending on the edition (though it should be broadly the same), but this is the Table of Contents per ISBN 9780760748992:

⥊ Contents ⥋
- The Post That Fitted
- Sestina of the Tramp-Royal
- The Explorer
- McAndrew's Hymn
- The Mary Gloster
- The Liner She's a Lady
- My Boy Jack
- The Vampire
- The English Flag
- The Ballad of East and West
- Gehazi
- The Islanders
- The White Man's Burden
- Recessional
- The Three-Decker
- The Conundrum of the Workshops
- The Benefactors
- When 'Omer Smote 'is Bloomin' Lyre
- Tomlinson
- The Female of the Species
- The Sons of Martha
- Danny Deever
- Tommy
- Fuzzy-Wuzzy
- Gunga Din
- The Widow at Windsor
- Mandalay
- The Ladies
- Follow Me 'Ome
- Mary, Pity Women!
- The Absent-Minded Beggar
- Chant-Pagan
- Puck's Song
- The Way Through the Woods
- A Tree Song
- A Charm
- Eddi's Service
- Harp Song of the Dane Women
- A St Helena Lullaby
- Road Song of the Bandar-Log
- The Law of the Jungle
- If—
- The Land
- The Song of the Little Hunter
- The Secret of the Machines
- The Storm Cone
- The Appeal
- Chronology of Kipling's Life and Times
❖(less)

flag

How long of a read is this book?

Johnny 3h40m—Around a little under 4 hours (for ISBN 9780760748992), though it will certainly depend on reading speed and the edition in question. While they…more3h40m—Around a little under 4 hours (for ISBN 9780760748992), though it will certainly depend on reading speed and the edition in question. While they should in principle all contain the same content, there may be minor variations. That will be especially true when it comes to Introductions and annexed commentary.(less)

flag

I read Kipling many years ago and accepted the then-current critical wisdom that he was a racist, sexist, and jingoist. Recently, I've been semi-persuaded by the revisionist critics who point out that Kipling's "politics" were more complex than that, as David Sterritt points out above. I'd be interested in hearing about that issue from other GoodReads folks. And maybe about the aesthetic value of the poet's oeuvre?

Johnny You should probably consider posting this in the 'Discussion' section instead of the 'FAQ', since it's a pretty subjective and open-ended question.

Tha…moreYou should probably consider posting this in the 'Discussion' section instead of the 'FAQ', since it's a pretty subjective and open-ended question.

That said, any critic who discards Rudyard Kipling wholesale as "racist, sexist, and jingoist" is certainly suffering from a knee-jerk, unnuanced view. The classics are the classics, and adopting an uncharitable and reductionist view doesn't do ourselves any favors.(less)

flag

Unanswered Questions

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more