内容简介
Belovedforhisfancifulandengrossingchildren’sliterature,controversialforhisenthusiasmforBritishimperialism,RudyardKiplingremainsoneofthemostwidelyreadwritersofVictorianandmodernEnglishliterature.Inadditiontowritingmorethantwodozenworksoffiction,includingKimandTheJungleBook,Kiplingwasaprolificpoet,composingverseineveryclassicalformfromtheepigramtotheode.Kipling’smostdistinctivegiftwasforballadsandnarrativepoemsinwhichhedrewvividcharactersinuniversalsituations,articulatingprofoundtruthsinplainlanguage.Yethewasalsoasubtle,affectinganatomistofthehumanheart,andhisdeepfeelingforthenaturalworldwasexquisitelyexpressedinhisverse.HewasshatteredbyWorldWarI,inwhichhelosthisonlyson,andhisworkdarkenedinlateryearsbutneverlostitsextraordinaryvitality.AlloftheseaspectsofKipling’spoetryarerepresentedinthisselection,whichrangesfromsuchwell-knowncompositionsas“Mandalay”and“If”totheless-familiar,emotionallypowerful,andpersonalepigramshewroteinresponsetothewar.
作者简介
RudyardKiplingwasborninBombay,IndiatoBritishparentsonDecember30,1865.In1871,Rudyardandhissister,Trix,agedthree,werelefttobecaredforbyacoupleinSouthsea,England.Fiveyearspassedbeforehesawhisparentsagain.Hissenseofdesertionanddespairwerelaterexpressedinhisstory“BaaBaa,BlackSheep”(1888),inhisnovelTheLightthatfailed(1890),andhisautobiography,SomethingofMyself(1937).Aslateas1935Kiplingstillspokebitterlyofthe“HouseofDesolation”atSouthsea:“Ishouldliketoburnitdownandploughtheplacewithsalt.”Attwelveheenteredaminorpublicschool,theUnitedServicesCollegeatWestwardHo,NorthDevon.InStalkyandCO.(1899)themyopicBeetleisaself-caricature,andthedaysatWestwardHoarerecalledwithmixedfeelings.Atsixteen,eccentricandliterary,KiplingsailedtoIndiatobecomeajournalist.HisIndianexperiencesledtosevenvolumesofstories,includingSoldiersThree(1888)andWeeWillieWinkie(1888).Attwenty-fourhereturnedtoEnglandandquicklytunedintoaliterarycelebrity.InLondonhebecameclosefriendswithanAmerican,(Charles)WolcottBalestier,withwhomhecollaboratedonwhatcriticscalleda“dimestorenovel.”Wolcottdiedsuddenlyin1891,andafewweekslaterKiplingmarriedWolcott’ssister,Caroline.ThenewlywedssettledinBrattleboro,Vermont,whereKiplingwroteTheJungleBook(1895),andmostofCaptainsCourageous(1897).BythistimeKipling’spopularityandfinancialsuccesswereenormous.In1899theKipling’ssettledinSussex,England,wherehewrotesomeofhisbestbooks:Kim(1901),JustSoStories(1902),andPuckofPooksHill(1906).In1907hereceivedtheNobelPrizeforliterature.Bythetimehedied,onJanuary181936,criticalopinionwasdeeplydividedabouthiswritings,buthisbookscontinuedtobereadbythousands,andsuchunforgettablepoemsandstoriesas“GungaDin,”“If,”“TheManWhoWouldBeKing,”and“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”havelivedonintheconsciousnessofsucceedinggenerations.PeterWashingtonistheeditorofseveralEveryman'sLibraryPocketPoetanthologies,includingLovePoems,FriendshipPoems,andPoemsofMourning.
