Can some one please explain these stanzas to me? I have read them over and over and am still so confused.
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--
The savage wars of peace--
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hopes to nought.
Take up the White Man's burden--
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper--
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go mark them with your living,
And mark them with your dead.
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!) toward the light:--
"Why brought he us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?"
Take up the White Man's burden--
Ye dare not stoop to less--
Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloke (1) your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your gods and you.
Take up the White Man's burden--
Have done with childish days--
The lightly proferred laurel, (2)
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!
This article has good interpretations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Man's_Burden
These stanzas come from a poem called "The White Man's Burden" written by Rudyard Kipling in 1899. The poem is often interpreted as expressing the duty that white European and American colonizers felt they had to "civilize" the non-European peoples they colonized.
In the poem, Kipling urges the reader to "take up the White Man's burden," which he describes as the responsibility to help and govern native peoples. He uses phrases like "Send forth the best ye breed," which can be interpreted as a call for the best individuals from the colonizing nations to go and serve.
Kipling describes these native peoples as "new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child," implying that they are savage, uncivilized, and in need of guidance. The term "savage wars of peace" is also used to describe the conflicts that may arise during the process of colonization.
The poem also emphasizes the economic aspects of colonization, with lines like "To seek another's profit, And work another's gain." This reflects the way in which colonizing nations exploited the resources and labor of the colonized territories for their own benefit.
Kipling warns that the burden of colonization may bring hatred and blame from those who are being "civilized." He mentions the cry of "Why brought he us from bondage, Our loved Egyptian night?" which suggests that some may question whether the perceived benefits of colonization are worth the loss of their own cultural identity and traditions.
In the final stanza, Kipling urges the reader to grow and mature, leaving behind the "childish days" of easy praise and recognition. He warns that the judgment of others, particularly the colonized peoples themselves, will ultimately weigh the actions and intentions of the colonizers and their "gods" or beliefs.
Overall, this poem is a reflection of the 19th-century imperialist mindset and the justifications used to support colonization. It is important to approach this poem critically and consider the historical context in which it was written.