Poem Analysis - Cholera Camp

Overview: Dark Humor in the Face of Death

Rudyard Kipling's "Cholera Camp" paints a grim picture of a military camp ravaged by a cholera outbreak. The poem, told from the perspective of a soldier, adopts a darkly humorous tone, using gallows humor as a coping mechanism in the face of widespread death. Despite the dire circumstances, the poem maintains a sense of camaraderie and resilience, highlighting the soldiers' efforts to find levity and maintain morale amidst the suffering. The mood, while predominantly bleak, is punctuated by moments of black comedy and a desperate attempt at optimism, creating a complex and unsettling reading experience.

A Glimpse into Colonial Reality

Kipling's poem offers a stark glimpse into the realities of colonial life for British soldiers serving in regions where disease was rampant. Cholera outbreaks were a common occurrence in British India, and the poem reflects the high mortality rates and the sense of helplessness that soldiers often experienced. The poem provides an unsentimental portrayal of the British military, showcasing the ordinary soldiers who often faced disease, hardship, and death, and who found that the home country was not always aware of their struggles. Kipling, who spent a significant part of his life in India, often depicted the lives of British soldiers and their interactions with the local population, and this poem adds to the picture.

Mortality and Absurdity

One of the central themes of "Cholera Camp" is the pervasive nature of mortality. The poem relentlessly repeats the phrase "ten more to-day," emphasizing the constant death toll and the soldiers' awareness of their own vulnerability. This constant presence of death leads to a sense of absurdity, as highlighted by the poem. The soldiers cope with death by making dark jokes, mocking the promotion system based on deaths, and finding solace in the bizarre antics of their chaplain and Father Victor. This dark humor underscores the futility of their situation and the desperation they feel to find meaning in the face of senseless death, thus, it's a way of grasping with life in the face of looming death.

The Illusion of Comfort and Resignation

The poem explores the theme of **resignation**. Despite the efforts of the Colonel to provide "comforts," the soldiers acknowledge that "there aren't much comfort 'andy on ten deaths a day." This highlights the limitations of material comforts in the face of overwhelming suffering. The Chaplain's unconventional approach, with his banjo and irreverent songs, and Father Victor's "rummy conjurin' tricks," suggest that traditional forms of solace are insufficient. Instead, the soldiers find a dark humor and a shared sense of fate that allows them to endure. The last stanza shows that they accept their likely deaths. This is evident in the lines "We've got to die somewhere -- some way -- some'ow -- We might as well begin to do it now!".

Symbolism of the Departing Camp

The recurring image of striking camp, particularly emphasized in the refrain, functions as a powerful symbol. The act of dismantling the camp mirrors the dismantling of the soldiers' lives and the disintegration of their sense of order and control. The command "Oh, strike -- oh, strike your camp an' go!" becomes a euphemism for death itself. The detailed instructions on how to take down the tent, from "Number One, let down the tent-pole slow" to "Fold in the flies, furl up the ropes, an' stow!" create a somber and almost ritualistic tone, suggesting a final, resigned farewell to life. It implies moving to the next life, whether they are ready or not.

Final Thoughts: A Legacy of Dark Humor

"Cholera Camp" is a poignant and unsettling poem that uses dark humor to confront the harsh realities of death and suffering in a colonial setting. By contrasting the bleakness of the situation with the soldiers' desperate attempts at levity, Kipling creates a powerful commentary on the resilience of the human spirit and the absurdity of war and disease. The poem's lasting significance lies in its ability to evoke both laughter and sorrow, reminding us of the importance of camaraderie and humor in the face of overwhelming adversity. It serves as a stark, unforgettable illustration of the ways in which people cope with unimaginable circumstances.