Kipling

[mysteryofgod]

And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart, till the Devil whispered behind the leaves "It's pretty, but is it Art?"
--Rudyard Kipling

TOMMYI went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer

Comments

[nareesas]

Slang is great, no matter who you are or where you're from! The user suddenly becomes part of the group they speak like (given they use the slang correctly. lol). The fact that Kipling took the time to arrange the slang so that it was rhymically pleasing shows a certain appreciation for his subject. The poem is spoken in a soldier's voice so readers feel like they are being spoken to by a soldier. And in/around war time, soldiers were obviously mistreated until it was time for them to do their jobs. The audience that would have been those people who mistreated Tommy are exposed (if only to themselves). The slang brings the poem closer to the people and the everyday. Maybe they would have been able to picture the face of a soldier when they heard the poem.

[mae_f]

I also liked "Tommy" by Kipling and I think that it's a true display of his brilliance! I really like how it's meant to be recited with a Cockney accent and in slang because it's something different - it really portrays what life was like for the lower class in that time. The poem just wouldn't be the same if it were written in a more elevated language or if it were told from the point of view of someone in the higher class