The Seven Seas

To enjoy Kipling's poetry you have to accept the convention of the ballad. You have to accept that not all poetry is sensitive and spiritual. Not all poetry is about the poet's soul, or superior perceptions or feelings. Some poetry, and the ballad in particular, is designed to be objective, to tell stories about fictional characters, to have an immediate impact, to be closer in some ways to the short story; to tell a tale and impress moral messages. Kipling comes squarely out of this tradition, a tradition that goes back to the Border Ballads, to Percy's reliques, via the long narrative poems of the 18th century which continued to be written in the Victorian period but, these days, are little read. 'The Seven Seas' is the most remarkable book of verse that Mr. Kipling has given us. Here the human sympathy is broader and deeper, the patriotism heartier and fuller, the intellectual and spiritual insight keener, the command of the literary vehicle more complete and sure, than in any previous verse-work by the author. The volume pulses with power-power often rough and reckless in expression, but invariably conveying the effect intended. There is scarcely a line which does not testify to the strong individuality of the writer."-London Globe.