Early Period
In the early years of Kipling’s poetic carrier he developed from a skillful versifier to a serious poet. In one of his earliest poems "Reading the Will" we can find hints of the kind of vivid detail that wood soon characterize his poetry (Page, Norman). Describing people in terms of "ferret-eyed women and keen-faced men" displayed his ability of depicting detail. The lines, "and scarcely the bell had ceased to toll" and "the outer surface of weepers and veils" depict his ability to versify. We can attribute this capability of his, to his unfaltering instinct of choosing the right word to depict the myriad details of a scene in a perfect way (Lawrence, Frederic). Thus this poem though clever in versification does not have any personal voice of Kipling in it. As we read his next collection of poems Departmental Ditties one’s attention falls on one particular piece of verse, "The Last Department". Sir William Hunter - one of his earliest critics - singled out this piece of verse for special consideration praising Kipling’s skills and recognizing Kipling’s capability of writing much greater work. In this poem Kipling depicts death as the "last department" and expresses happiness about the fact that after one’s death nothing "shall trouble [him/her] again". The reality of freedom from confrontation with fools or frauds and freedom from greed and caste differences places him in a blissful state of mind. In this poem he also divulges the grim reality of life that all people, no matter how much importance they carry during their lifetime, end up forgotten after their death and that very few people have the potential to create a void after their death. Lines like "to the grim Head who claims our services" and "trust me, To-day’s Most Indispensables" again depict his unflappable capability of finding and placing the right words at the right place. But unlike "Reading the Will" this poem reflects Kipling’s deep insight into life. Thus with these two early poems Kipling establishes himself as a poet and begins an illustrious poetic career spanning five decades.
As Kipling grew as a poet he branched out into different forms of poetry becoming one of the best ballad writers of all time. "Mandalay" and "The Ballad of the East and West", two of his best ballads, can justify this claim without leaving any room for doubt.. "Mandalay" one of Kipling’s most effective and haunting ballad expresses his sensuous response to life in the East (Page, Norman). The soldier in this poem hates the cold weather of England and wants his superiors to send him "somewhere east of Suez". He wishes that someone might call him to the east and he might get a chance to go back to the "spicy garlic [odor]" and the "tinkly temple-bells." Through the use of such imagery he creates a beautiful atmosphere prevalent in the east, arises a sense of love for the eastern nations and generates a longing for living there. Through this poem he not only makes the world view India, but touch it and even breathe it. By repeating the phrase "on the road to Mandalay" throughout the poem he creates a haunting impression in the mind of the reader of this town somewhere in India. Reading this ballad in its languorous, slow-moving refrain creates a melody of its own (Page, Norman). While "Mandalay" showcases the country’s of the east, "The Ballad of the East and West" depicts the differences present between the east and west even though uniformity in human nature subsists around the world. This ballad gives the English language one of its most famous phrases - "east is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet". This phrase alone has led to the castigation of Kipling as a racist (Page, Norman). But a misinterpretation stems from delineating Kipling as a racist on the basis of this ballad, as this ballad tries to depict equanimity among all men. Here he depicts the differences in a white and brown man through two soldiers, both fighting for what they believe in. Both these soldiers give up their thirst for each others blood once they "[gazed at] each other between the eyes" as they find that the virtue of bravery adorns both of them. The two soldiers recognize and respect each others purpose and sense of duty. In this ballad Kipling also displays his ability to create life like characters through "Kamal" and "The Colonel’s son". Through the use of imagery and witty verse he makes both of these fictional characters come alive. This quality of his comes out as one of the greatest gifts of Kipling which he uses to create infinitely various characters through out his works (Lawrence, Frederic). These ballads depict Kipling’s simplicity of purpose and consummate gift of word, phrase, and rhythm (Eliot, T.S.). These ballads also showcase Kipling’s ability to devise variety of form and keep each ballad distinct from the other (Eliot, T.S.). Thus concludes his early literary period which ends indicating the potential of this poet to create beautiful verse.