Joseph Rudyard Kipling is a British writer and poet. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1907). He was born on December 30, 1865 in Bombay, India. He studied in London, where his worldview was formed, including his devotion to order and organization, writes Wikipedia.
He published his first collection of poems “School Poetry“ in India when he was 16 years old. He studied in England, then returned to India and began working as a journalist. For 5 years he worked as a staff writer, and then as co-editor of the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore (one of the largest cities in present-day Pakistan). His duties also included the weekly supplement to the newspaper with entertaining essays and stories.
After the trip to Japan and the USA, he returned to England. He traveled to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. He married an American and tried to settle in America, but after the death of his eldest daughter Josephine, he returned to England in 1902, where he remained until his death.
Kipling reached unusually early creative maturity, which is evident in his first book of poems, “Department Songs“ (1886), which was published when he was 21 years old.
Kipling is the author of the poetry collections “Songs from the Barracks“ (1892), “Seven Seas“ (1896), “Five Nations“ (1903) and others, thanks to which his name became known all over the world. He published prose books: a collection of stories "Simple Stories from the Mountains" (1888), the novel "The Light Went Out" (1890), Kim (1901) and others.
Criticizing the English colonial administration (Pudget, Member of Parliament) and reproaching the English government and military command for a lack of interest in the lower ranks (Tommy), Kipling creates the impression of dispassionate objectivity of his views. His work is dedicated to the affirmation of the civilizing mission of the Anglo-Saxon race among the backward peoples of the East (“The White Man's Burden“, 1899), which, according to some, is tendentious.
The writer's best poems are close to the tradition of English songs and ballads, are distinguished by dynamic humor and figurative language. His children's and youth works “The Jungle Book“ (1894) and “The Second Jungle Book“ (1895) are very popular. Kipling is the youngest Nobel laureate for literature (1907) - receiving the prize at the age of 41. After the First World War, in which his only son died, the writer's worldview and creative doctrine changed dramatically. His Masonic affiliation is clearly expressed in most of his works, with his autobiography making the strongest impression.
He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in early 1936.
Let us recall one of Kipling's greatest poems:
IF
If you control yourself when everyone,
trembles, and calls you a coward;
If you trust your heart alone,
but be cautious;
If you wait without despairing;
slandered — sow no slander;
or hated — harbor no malice;
but… neither too wise nor too holy are you;
If you dream, without being a dreamer;
if you are clever, without being a clever;
If you meet the Collapse — an evil traitor —
the same as Triumph — an old cynic;
If the evildoers swear your sacred oath
turned into a trap — and you bear it,
or you see things collapsed,
built with blood — and start a new construction;
If you bet on a pile in front of you
what you have won, boldly throw the dice,
you lose, and start again, and you can
keep quiet about the old failure;
If you force your brain, nerves, and hands -
and worn out — to serve you again,
and you walk, with only the Will left,
which repeats to them: „Get in step!“
If in the crowd you keep the Lord in you,
in the palace — your simple human laughter;
If you respect everyone, but don't climb;
if you are not afraid of your enemy or your own;
If you fill the predatory Minute
with a sixty-second sprint, at least once;
The world is yours! My request has been heard!
And most importantly, my son — you will be a Man!