Play is important, so important that Kipling plays around with “On the road to Mandalay,/Where the flyin’-fishes play,” because it is silly for fish to play on a road. Rather, the military road has taken over and is suppressing their play.
The classic complaint about the poem is that Mandalay is inland.
give me a clue so sweet and true
the Daily Whale
copyright 2021, 2024 Jay J.P. Scott
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