Skip to content
Task

Tasks: The White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling

Discuss 1:

Work with partners and discuss the questions below.

  1. What view of colonialism is evident in this poem?

  2. How are the colonisers portrayed in the poem?

  3. And what about the colonised people – how are they portrayed?

  4. Is the poem racist? If yes, can you give examples of passages that you consider to be racist?

  5. How do you feel about reading a poem with this subject matter in school? Should poems like this be banned from school?

Analyse:

  1. Find examples of three literary devices used in the poem, and explain what is accomplished by using these devices.

  2. Explain what the poem's theme and message are.

  3. Write down the rhyme scheme of the poem. What is accomplished by using this rhyme scheme?

How to write down the rhyme scheme

When you want to illustrate which rhyme scheme a poem follows, look to the last sound in the line. Label every new ending sound with a new letter. Then when the same sound occurs in the poem, use the same letter.

Example:

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan - A

A stately pleasure-dome decree: - B

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran - A

Through caverns measureless to man - A

Down to a sunless sea. - B

The example is from the poem 'Kubla Khan' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Research:

Choose one of the tasks, research the topic, and prepare a presentation. Perform the presentation in class, or make a video recording.

  1. How did British rule affect India?

  2. The US has had a lot of influence all over the world, but can it be considered a colonial power?

  3. Why did the British Empire collapse?

  4. First read the article about Rudyard Kipling found in 'Relatert Innhold' below. Then use the internet or the library to find out more about him. Discuss your findings in a group. You should include:

  • his background

  • his authorship and his most famous work

  • his views on colonialism

Discuss 2:

In the expandable box below you can see the two cartoons that were used to illustrate the poem. Have a close look at the cartoons and discuss the questions below.

  1. Do you think the cartoons are racist – or do they use caricature as a device to throw light on the racist attitudes that existed at the time?

  2. Would a modern newspaper have published cartoons in this style?

  3. What is the theme and message of each cartoon?

  4. Why do you think these cartoons were chosen to illustrate the poem? Do you think it is OK to use these cartoons in this context?

Cartoons
Drawing: We see a man with a head like a lion wearing boxing gloves with army and navy written on them. He is much bigger than the people he is roaring and punching towards, who are caricatures of people from Africa and Asia. Below the drawing it says "British Benevolence. It is painful to be obliged to use force against the weak --Earl Granville in House of Lords."
Cartoon from the magazine, Puck, titled British Benevolence. Image: Joseph Keppler, Puck, Library of Congress / Public domain
Cartoon: We see Uncle Sam (the United States) and John Bull (The United Kingdom) carrying baskets of people who are caricatures of different ethnicities up a hillside covered in rocks. The rocks have writing on them 'barbarism', 'oppression', 'ignorance', 'vice' and more. At the top is a golden statue with the word 'civilization' above it.
Cartoon from 1899 with the caption "The White Man's Burden – Apologies to Rudyard Kipling". Image: Victor Gilliam / Public domain

Related content