Barrack-room ballads

"Barrack Room Ballads" By Rudyard Kipling is a compilation of poems from the late 1800s that showcases the lives and bonds of British soldiers while deployed, usually focusing on themes surrounding courage, poor choices, and the difficulties encountered while doing their part for their country. The poems include varied points of view, illuminating the soldiers’ lives with a rough yet often comedic tone, delivering a touching overview of military service and daily life while living at the barracks. The early poems introduce readers to lively depictions of the soldiers, humorously entwined with the somber. A key poem shows the harsh truth of a soldier's execution, and the gloomy mood that comes with it, while another relays the soldiers' disdain for the public’s view of them, and emphasizes how they are respected during war but looked down upon when at peace. Kipling furthers this analysis with other poems, honoring the bravery of their enemies, and celebrating a native water-bearer who serves with supreme courage; overall, these initial poems set the scene for a string of examinations of the soldiers’ experiences, all while mixing irony, admiration, and critical thought.