Poem Analysis - The Last Department

A Memento Mori of Bureaucracy

Rudyard Kipling's "The Last Department" is a cynical and darkly humorous meditation on mortality and the insignificance of worldly endeavors. The poem adopts a sardonic tone, contemplating the afterlife as a final, bureaucratic "department" where the hierarchies and concerns of life are rendered meaningless. While starting with a global perspective, the poem quickly narrows its focus to the individual fate, suggesting a shift from concern for humanity to a more personal confrontation with death. This reflects a blend of stoicism and weary resignation.

Kipling's Colonial Context

Understanding Kipling's background as a poet of the British Empire adds depth to the poem. The poem is full of colonial imagery, such as references to "Sheristadar" (a clerk in India) and "punkah" (a fan used in India), indicating that the "department" is a colonial one. The poem’s preoccupation with hierarchy, office politics, and the transient nature of power likely reflects Kipling's observations of the British administration in India. The poem implicitly critiques the perceived importance of these administrative roles in the face of ultimate oblivion.

The Futility of Ambition

One of the poem's central themes is the futility of ambition. Kipling suggests that all the striving and scheming within the earthly "department" ultimately amount to nothing in "The Last Department." The lines, "No longer Brown reverses Smith's appeals, / Or Jones records his Minute of Dissent," illustrate how the bureaucratic processes, so vital in life, become completely irrelevant in death. The phrase "Eternal Settlement" ironically highlights the permanence of death against the fleeting nature of earthly concerns. The entire concept of this final "department" suggests that death is the ultimate leveler, making all earthly power struggles moot.

Death as the Great Bureaucrat

The poem uses the image of death as a relentless and impartial bureaucrat, contrasting sharply with the petty officials of earthly life. The poem personifies death as the "grim Head who claims our services." The references to "pukka step," and "leave, long overdue" further emphasize death's bureaucratic inevitability. The images are stark. Phrases like "wood-scantled office pent" and the idea of being "subject-matter of his own Report" conjure a sense of confinement and objectification, highlighting the loss of individual agency in the face of mortality. The metaphor of the "marigold" as a "thriftless, bullion-minting Treasury" is striking because it mocks the financial considerations so important in life. Here, nature renders the idea of economic productivity absurd, suggesting the ultimate emptiness of worldly wealth.

The Cycle of Replacement

Another potent theme is the ease with which individuals are replaced in the grand scheme of things. The final stanza emphasizes this idea. "Trust me, To-day's Most Indispensables, / Five hundred men can take your place or mine." This underlines the expendability of individuals within the bureaucratic machine. The poem ends with the acknowledgement that life goes on, indifferent to the passing of any single person, no matter how important they seemed in their own time. This theme is presented with a sense of quiet resignation, rather than bitterness, as if Kipling has come to terms with the transient nature of existence.

Concluding Thoughts: A Somber Resignation

"The Last Department" is a cynical yet insightful poem about mortality and the ultimate insignificance of worldly ambitions. Through its bureaucratic imagery and sardonic tone, Kipling effectively conveys the futility of earthly struggles in the face of death. The poem suggests that the hierarchies and concerns of life are ultimately meaningless and that everyone, regardless of their status or achievements, will eventually be replaced. The poem is not necessarily despairing, but rather offers a somber reflection on the human condition, urging readers to consider the larger perspective beyond the daily grind. The final image is one of nature reclaiming the remnants of human endeavors, suggesting the enduring power of the natural world over the fleeting constructions of civilization.