“Two Canadian Memorials” is an epitaph by the famed and renowned Rudyard Kipling. I chose this epitaph because its subject is World War One, and because, despite all his fame and renown, I’ve never actually read anything by Rudyard Kipling. Mea culpa. These memorials fall under his Epitaphs of the War collection; I’ve found no source definitively saying that Epitaphs is one poem, so I’ll be assuming that it’s a collection, and proceed accordingly.
Two Canadian Memorials
I
We giving all gained all.
spNeither lament us nor praise.
Only in all things recall,
acIt is Fear, not Death that slays.
II
From little towns in a far land we came,
ehTo save our honour and a world aflame.
By little towns in a far land we sleep;
reAnd trust that world we won for you to keep!
To begin, we’ll establish the literal aspect of the poems – the events that are actually happening, or what the poet is talking about on the surface. Once this is established, we can delve deeper.
We giving all gained all.
The speaker is a Canadian veteran. Canada was on the winning side in World War I, and the war was a big part of Canadian independence from Great Britain. This victory was not without cost, though; Canadians fought from 1915 until the war’s conclusion, and died for the autonomy they gained.
Neither lament us nor praise.
The speaker goes on to express his wishes to civilians. Oftentimes, when a person goes through a transformative, traumatic event, they do not want pity. The experiences of wartime, for many, are not something to be proud of. For many veterans, the only people who can truly understand what happened are other veterans, and the opinions of people removed from the war do not carry weight – whether positive or negative.
Only in all things recall,/It is Fear, not Death that slays.
The speaker shifts tone here, imparting wisdom and becoming slightly more positive. He encourages the reader to continue on in their endeavors, arguing against hesitation.
From little towns in a far land we came,
The speaker makes the point common to many North American veterans of World War I, which is that the conflict was not local or intrinsically relevant; The Central Powers were not threatening to land and invade Newfoundland. Canadian citizens made the choice to sail across the Atlantic and fight.
To save our honour and a world aflame.
The speaker continues to establish the stakes that Canada did face – the British Empire called upon them for assistance, and in a grander sense, the war was about the global balance of power. Especially during the war, the Central Powers were viewed as evil due to a combination of propaganda (Germans did not actually eat Belgian babies) and actions (Germans did actually use mustard gas). Stopping these nations from gaining global dominance was a worthwhile cause for honor.
By little towns in a far land we sleep;
Here the speaker reveals more about the cost of defending honor. He and numerous implied dead “sleep” in towns of little note far from their homes, never returning. This illuminates the last line of the first stanza, turning it into an assurance that despite being dead, they are not slain – that is, not entirely gone.
And trust that world we won for you to keep!
Rather than dwelling on his own death, the speaker impresses upon the reader the importance of his sacrifice. He does not wish for the reader to look back, but to value what was gained and safeguard it, to make the loss worthwhile.
Disassembly 