The Seven Seas, Rudyard Kipling Poetry, First American Edition 1897

Description: The poems in this 1896 book by Rudyard Kipling have from the beginning been open to interpretation. That is often the nature of poetry, but in Kipling's case he is investigating the colonial expansion of Great Britain across all the seven oceans, and he has mixed feelings. At times he glorifies colonialism, describing Britain's territorial and imperial ambitions as part of a great and noble experiment for the betterment of the subjugated populations. Previously to the publication of The Seven Seas, Kipling had been ambivalent about the colonial experience, having lived it himself. So in this book he mixes his encomiums with some poems that provide brutal criticisms of the trauma colonialism brings to its subjects. Similarly, having spent time living in the U.S., Kipling in some of these poems urges Britain to collaborate with the Americans in bringing imperialism to the global masses. In a few other poems, he excoriates American seamen as rapacious, violent thugs. 22,000 advance copies of The Seven Seas were printed, based on public demand and the general public's enthusiasm for Kipling's poetry. What shines forth in these poems is Kipling's undoubted gift for describing nature, people, cultures, and climate in vivid words.The book went through several reprintings in Kipling's lifetime (he died at an advanced age in 1936).

Price: 85 USD

Location: Morris, Illinois

End Time: 2024-12-03T12:38:25.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.38 USD