Boots (poem) Boots (poem) "Boots" is a poem by English author and poet Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). It was first published in 1903, in his collection "The Five Nations". "Boots" imagines the repetitive thoughts of a British Army infantryman marching by forced marches in South Africa during the Second Boer War (which had ended in 1902). It has been said that if the first four words in each line are read at the rate of two words to the second, that gives the time to which the British foot soldier was accustomed to march. The poem was set to music for low male
Long poem texts in the world since Homer. By writing a long poem, a poet participates in this tradition and must prove their virtuosity by living up to the tradition. As discussed below, the traditionally difficult long poem's prestige can be revised to serve radical purposes. Additional benefits of the long poem: Critic Lynn Keller voices the concerns of female poets writing within the genre of the long poem. In her essay "Pushing the Limits", she discusses the long poem in regards to its female contributors, a group often forgotten or marginalized in favor of the more privileged white male author. Not