The White Man's Burden Analysis

This poem may deliver a pretty troubling message, but when it comes to the form and meter, we could give it serious points for consistency (if we were in the point-giving mood). The rhythm and rhy...

Our mother once told us that, if we can't say anything nice, it's best not to say anything at all. So… yeah, about this speaker... he certainly seems… enthusiastic?We know, we know—by today's...

While there's no clear physical setting to be found in this poem, we can talk more broadly about the historical backdrop to "White Man's Burden." In fact, it's about time we did just that.As we men...

As we mention in "Form and Meter" (go check that section out if you haven't already), this poem is as tight as a tick's tutu on a Tuesday. We may have just made that saying up, but the point is tha...

The title "The White Man's Burden" should come as no great surprise. After all, it's a part of the poem's central refrain, which gets repeated at the start of every single stanza. In essence, the t...

Kipling has been called "The Poet of the Empire," and this poem went a long way toward cementing that legacy. While he also wrote children's stories, his legacy is defined by his arguments supporti...

There may be some funky, turn-of-the-century diction to slow you down, but this poem is pretty straightforward. The toughest part of the climb is stomaching all the racist scenery you have to encou...

Kipling knew a thing or two about going overseas to support colonialism. He was born in Bombay, India, which was at the time (1865) was a British colony. (Source.) Kipling's ashes are buried i...

This poem is all about being a manly man—make that, a manly white man. With all the work that the speaker goes on about, there's just no time for sexy shenanigans.

The Bible, Book of Exodus (39-40)