Analyzing Kipling's 'Once Upon A Time'

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listen. Overall, he informs the listener about society; what he believes to be the real truth and also the hard realities of being an adult therefore losing the innocence of being a child. The poem summarises the pain Okara has related to growing up, and his personal loss of innocence.

This is a sombre and emotional poem with a strong moral message and is serious throughout. However, the end stanza is positive and shows hope, this helps the reader to be inspired. We sympathise with him because he recognises how he has changed and wants to return to who he once was. We can relate to him because we can all understand the feeling of yearning to childhood and past memories.

‘Once Upon a Time’ has strong connotations of a western fairy tale …show more content…

In his early life, it is said Kipling was on the verge of a mental breakdown and then told he could not go to college as his parents could not afford it. Not only this but Kipling’s first child, Josephine, died after suffering from pneumonia, this left Kipling devastated however, his tragedy did not end there; his son then also died in the war. Kipling wrote “Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken” which could suggest how he gave his life up and a large amount of his time to his children but he has had to watch them die. This also explains why “broken” is at the end of the line to add emphasis and importance as to him his family and home life are unfixable. The line “If all men count with you, but none too much” also makes sense in this situation as Kipling has learnt that you cannot love and care for a man so much that it will damage your mental health to the extremities that it damaged Kipling if they betray you or die. This may explain why we only hear Kipling’s voice in the poem as he does not need anyone else for support and can reply solely on himself and does not need a reply from his son. In an alternate view this could have been the morals and advice Kipling wished to pass on to his children but not getting the chance he decided to publish it in a poem and therefor sharing his view with anyone that wishes to listen which explains why to who the poem is directed to is very ambiguous and is most commonly referred to as

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