"A Death-Bed" is a poem by English poet and writer

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

(1865-1936). It was first published in April 1919, in the collection '' The Years Between''. Later publications identified the year of writing as 1918. Kipling's only son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, had been reported

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

in 1915, during the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

, leaving him grief-stricken. "A Death-Bed" has been variously described as "the most savage poem Kipling ever wrote", "the chilling and pitiless masterpiece" and as "overtly distasteful".

Structure

"A Death-Bed" consists of 10 ABAB quatrains, with four stresses per line. It interweaves three voices: # In quotation marks: an absolute monarch, suffering from

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

. # In italics: a group of doctors attending the dying ruler. # In plain text: a commentator.

Content

The dying patient vehemently asserts his absolute power, while blaming others for starting

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The doctors, consulting between themselves with detached professionalism, discuss his condition and recommend

opiates An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium (or poppy straw). It differs from the similar term ''opioid'' in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain ( ...

; because it is too late for surgery. The commentator lists a succession of wartime horrors for which

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

has implied responsibility, beginning each passage with "Some die ....". Most are non-specific, but the line "Some die saintly in faith and hope— / One died thus in a prison-yard—"page 286 "A Death-Bed" 1918, Rudyard Kipling's Verse Definitive Edition, Hodder and Stoughton Ltd London, 1960 apparently refers to the executed British nurse

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape ...

(1865-1915). In the last line a doctor addresses the monarch as "All-Highest", a supposed title of the German Emperor: it is therefore Kaiser Wilhelm, who had been reported (incorrectly) to be suffering from the throat cancer which had killed his father, Kaiser Frederick. Depersonalised throughout the poem by being referred to as "this", the Kaiser dies unable to speak but begging for assurance with his eyes.

References

External links

* Poetry by Rudyard Kipling 1918 poems World War I poems {{UK-poem-stub