Unit 1.pdf - Southwest High School

P o e t r y
Activity 1.15
continued
by Henry Labouchère
Truth (London, Feb. 25, 1899)
A b o u t t h e A u t h o r
A journalist and politician, Henry Du Pré Labouchère (1831–1912)
gained notoriety for his wartime dispatches from Paris. From
the city besieged during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871),
Labouchère sent reports by balloon, which later were published in
the London Daily News. He founded the newspaper Truth (1877),
which exposed fraud and corruption. Labouchère also served in
the British House of Commons.
Literary terms
A parody is a literary or
artistic work that imitates
the characteristic style of an
author or a work for comic
effect or ridicule.
My Notes
Pile on the brown man’s burden
To gratify your greed;
Go, clear away the “niggers”
Who progress would impede;
Be very stern, for truly
’Tis useless to be mild
With new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.
Pile on the brown man’s burden;
And, if ye rouse his hate,
Meet his old-fashioned reasons
With Maxims 1 up to date.
With shells and dumdum bullets 2
A hundred times made plain
The brown man’s loss must ever
Imply the white man’s gain.
Pile on the brown man’s burden,
compel him to be free;
Let all your manifestoes 3
Reek with philanthropy 4 .
And if with heathen folly
He dares your will dispute,
Then, in the name of freedom,
Don’t hesitate to shoot.
5
© 2011 College Board. All rights reserved.
10
15
20
Word
Connections
Philanthropy derives from
the Greek words philand
anthropos, meaning
“loving mankind.” Other
words that include
phil- are philology and
philosopher.
1
maxims: aphorisms; sayings
2
dumdum bullets: bullets that expand on impact
3
manifestoes: declarations
4
philanthropy: charity
Unit 1 • Perception Is Everything 51