The Conundrum of the Workshops

"New Lamps for Old" by Rudyard Kipling (1889)

This is the poem Kipling reworked into “The Conundrum of the Workshops.” The two poems share the same poetic structure, Biblical references, and even some near-identical lines. However, this poem articulates more explicitly Kipling’s conservative argument against change for the sake of change.

"Tomlinson" by Rudyard Kipling (1892)

The eponymous (his name is in the title) protagonist of this poem represents the kind of person Kipling disliked, someone whose passions and values come from books rather than from a life fully lived. The poem is broadly understood as a parody of the members of the Aesthetic Movement, like Oscar Wilde.

"In Partibus" by Rudyard Kipling (1889)

This poem contrasts the aesthetic type of men, whom Kipling disliked, and the army type, whom he admired. The title comes from the Latin phrase in partibus infidelium, meaning “in the regions of the infidels,” a technical Catholic expression for territories in which no bishops have jurisdiction; that is, an area conquered by another faith. The implication is that the poet found himself in a place (literary London) with views and values (aestheticism) in which he himself cannot believe.