Speaker

The speaker makes a call to action to the white man

The speaker of “The White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling makes a clear call to action to the white man throughout the poem. Specifically, the speaker asks him to take responsibility as a civilising force and make an effort to improve the lives of the inhabitants of the colonies.

The call to action is made even clearer by the fact that the speaker uses the imperative throughout the poem, such as: “Take up the White Man’s burden.” The speaker does not hide the fact that civilising the colonoised peoples will be an extremely difficult and ungrateful task - it is a moral “burden”. However, it is a burden, or duty, which belongs specifically to the white man because he is superior to all others. The speaker thereby gives the white man an elevated rol...