Fuzzy-Wuzzy Comments

Really a beautiful poem, after a long time seen these types of poem.

Educational on more than one level, and most complimentary to a those of a class he cannot help in any other way, except to praise him for his virtues. (This was a controversial poem, for just that reason, it its day.)

The deliberate misspelling of words gives the poem more realism, as far as the characters are concerned, ''E's the on'y thing' etc. There is a tinge of racism in calling someone 'Fuzzy-Wuzzy' as far as I am concerned.

A sudanese friend sent this to me today..This is an example of British Lit at its best and this is not meant as a compliment... it is in the same league with a prime minister of that country who once spoke of Gandhijii as that naked fakir or something similar ..... we fortunately have traversed the void of mockery and for the most part progressed significantly from the time of the colonial mentality to which Africans, Indians and others were subjected to by the west.

a great slice of history

So 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan; You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man; An' 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air - You big black boundin' beggar - for you broke a British square! Yes Kipling was fair towards the brave Sudanese fighters of the Bejja Tribes in Eastern Sudan under the leadership of Othman Digna. They were and still are brave men and great fighters who won the war against the British empire and broke the strategic famous Square of the British Army in the 19th century in the Sudan. Kipling was a great poet as he was called as the Poet of the British Empire.

I say. Wot wot good sir. Givem all there is.

Brilliant I can feel the fighting and smell the sweat. What an insight into the mind of the nineteenth century soldier.