But as the age of the European empires recedes, he is recognised as an incomparable, if controversial, interpreter of how empire was experienced. Literary critic Douglas Kerr wrote: 'He is still an author who can inspire passionate disagreement and his place in literary and cultural history is far from settled. George Orwell called him a 'prophet of British imperialism'. Kipling's subsequent reputation has changed according to the political and social climate of the age and the resulting contrasting views about him continued for much of the 20th century. Among other honours, he was sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, all of which he declined. Henry James said: 'Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known.' In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and to date he remains its youngest recipient. Kipling was one of the most popular writers in England, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is regarded as a major 'innovator in the art of the short story' his children's books are enduring classics of children's literature and his best works are said to exhibit 'a versatile and luminous narrative gift'. Kipling is best known for his works of fiction, including The Jungle Book (a collection of stories which includes 'Rikki-Tikki-Tavi'), Just So Stories (1902) (1894), Kim (1901) (a tale of adventure), many short stories, including 'The Man Who Would Be King' (1888) and his poems, including Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The White Man's Burden (1899) and If- (1910). He was born in Bombay, in the Bombay Presidency of British India, and was taken by his family to England when he was five years old. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature. An English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children.

Kipling poem if