"The Man who could Write"

(notes edited by Roberta Baldi)



the poem

[March 10th 2005]

Publication

First printed in Civil and Military Gazette, March 23rd, 1886. Collected in Sussex Edition, Vol. 32, page 29 (ORG entry: nr. 173, page 5112).

Background to the poem

Just as a contextual clue, this is what Kipling writes in a letter to E. K. Robinson, on 30 April 1886:

Would you be astonished if I told you that I look forward to nothing but an Indian journalist’s career? ... My home’s out here; my people are out here ... all the interests I have are out here. ... London journalism ... is a great and grand thing but it seems to me ... that out here one lives and writes more in the centre of history with one’s hands on everything than in a land where by reason of its hugeness every one is on the outskirts of everything; watching ministers, policies and financiers from afar.
 (Thomas Pinney (ed), The Letters of Rudyard Kipling Volume 1, Basingstoke and New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 1990, 126-127).



Notes on the text


The lines refer to the whole poem, heading lines included.

[Line 1] drink Kipling here does not overtly state his subject yet: ‘bowl’ and ‘drink’ lead to expect a commentary on drinking rather than writing, although the latter term already punningly contains the word ‘ink’.

[Line 2] many geese who dipped their quills in 't The topic of the poem becomes now a bit clearer, though Kipling still sustains his pun, in so far as ‘geese’ and ‘dipped’ may still refer to both drinking and writing.

[Line 5] there may be silver in the “blue-black” Blue-black is a very dark blue ink. Silver seems to be used here not only for its chromatic implications but as a reference to the wealth which might derive from writing.

[Line 6] the iron and the gall This expression probably reflects the writer’s actual working experience, the hardness of iron and the bitterness of gall. (Gall is linked to bile, the bitter secretion of the liver, stored in the gall-bladder)

Kipling may also here be referring to “iron-gall nut ink” which was the standard writing ink in Europe for over 700 years. Its use (as Wikipedia tells us) only started to decline in the 20th century, when other water-proof formulas (better suited for writing on paper) became available.

[Line 7] Boanerges Blitzen Kipling was very particular about the names of his characters.

In "The Man Who Could Write", Kipling gives advice about writing satirically but not wittily of one's superiors .... What is the source of the name for this foolish writer? The end of Poe's "Tale of Jerusalem" gives us "Boanerges, the son of Thunder", while "The Devil in the Belfry" furnishes an explanation of the town's name "Vondervotteimittiss" which rests upon "Bleitziz obsol.: pro Blitzen". (Burton R. Pollin, ‘Poe and Kipling: A ‘Heavy Debt’ Acknowledged’, the Kipling Journal, March 1980, 16).
The Anchor Bible Dictionary also notes the Biblical echoes of the protagonist’s first name:

According to Mark 3:17, Jesus gave the appellation “Boanerges” to James and John; this was an an Aramaic name meaning “sons of thunder” or “sons of trembling.” This has been taken to indicate the volatile temperament of the brothers. (the Anchor Bible Dictionary on CD-ROM, James).
[Lines 10, 12] high The repetition of ‘high’ and the use of other words relating to ‘ascension’ (see rise, v.10) seem to underline Blitzen’s aspiration of attaining a more elevated social position.

[Line 14] Wicked wit of C-lv-n Sir Auckland Colvin was the Financial Member of the Viceroy’s Council from 1883-1887 who imposed an Income Tax, the burden of which fell almost entirely on Anglo-Indians. [any indications from readers of this Guide of his ‘wicked wit’ will be most welcome; Ed.] .

[Line 14] irony of L-----l. Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall was Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, 1882-1887” His Verses Written in India was published in 1889. He also wrote a number of books on Indian history. His writings about the Indian Mutiny showed a sympathy to the native cause which would have been unthinkable to Europeans during the time of the uprising. Both he and Colvin (above) would have been familiar names to Kipling's readers.

[Lines 16; 18, 22; passim] journalistic prose; Indian paper; write. Again, as in other poems, this can be read as a reference to Kipling’s own writings. He was well used to the risks of sparring with Government.

[Lines 17-20] About this stanza Professor T. J. Connell writes:

One poem, concerning Boanerges Blitzen, shows that Kipling knew he was running some risk...Curiously enough Lord Dufferin, Viceroy during Kipling's time in India liked Departmental Ditties. He commented to Kipling's father John that they combined 'satire with grace and delicacy', so he must have seen the truth behind at least some of the laughter. (T. J. Connell, ‘Roger and Francis Bacon and Some Comparisons with Rudyard Kipling, The Kipling Journal, March 2003, 30).
[Lines 17, 19] Never young Civilian’s prospects were so ... The repetitive structure of this stanza underlines the opposition between Blitzen’s aspirations (‘bright’) and their actual outcome once he set down to write (‘dark’).

[Line 21] bold, and black, and firm This sequence may well refer to journalism: ‘bold’ and ‘firm’ as adjectives may hint at Blitzen’s courage in describing events; the former may indicate the appearance of the font used, and ‘black’ the colour of the ink.

[Line 22] squirm. To feel or show humiliation or embarrassment.

[Line 25] Rag Derogatory slang for a newspaper.

[Line 25] plucky Courageous.

[Line 29] Posed as young Ithuriel, resolute and grim

Ithuriel is an angel, the touch of whose spear exposes deceit. When Satan contrived to get into Paradise, Gabriel sent Ithuriel to find where he had hidden himself. Satan was disguised, but the touch of Ithuriel’s spear compelled him to reveal himself. [Durand, 1914: 8].
[passim] Till he found This repetition marks the climax of the story, as Blitzen realises that he is out of favour.

[Line 33] furlough Leave

[Line 39] hitch An impediment or delay


[R.B.]

©Roberta Baldi 2004 All rights reserved