Question

How does Kipling feel about colonialism? Poem:

Take up the White Man's burden
Send forth the best ye breed.
Go bind 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!

Answer 1

Rudyard Kipling's poem 'The White Man's Burden' reflects pro-imperialist attitudes, suggesting a moral duty of Western nations to civilize other parts of the world, yet contains inherent notions of racial superiority and condescension towards non-Western peoples.

Step-by-step explanation:

Rudyard Kipling's views on colonialism are expressed through his poem, 'The White Man's Burden,' which suggests that imperialism is a duty that Western nations have to the non-Western world. This duty is portrayed as both a moral obligation to bring civilization and progress to other parts of the world and a burden that Westerners take up for the benefit of those they colonize. Despite the apparent call for empathy and aid, the poem reinforces ideas of racial superiority and the notion that non-Western peoples are incapable of self-governance or improvement without Western intervention.

Kipling speaks of the 'White Man' taking up the burden to 'send forth the best ye breed' and 'to serve your captives' need.' This reflects a paternalistic attitude that assumes other cultures need to be educated and guided by Western powers. The poem also acknowledges the ingratitude and backlash that the colonizers might face, as seen in lines such as, 'The blame of those ye better, The hate of those ye guard.'

Overall, the poem is considered emblematic of the pro-imperialist attitudes of its time, where colonialism was seen as a civilizational mission fraught with hardships, but ultimately justified by its alleged benefits to the colonized. Nevertheless, it has also been subject to criticism for perpetuating racist and condescending views towards the peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.