The Explorer Poem Analysis

God is always with us as an eternal presence felt by us - a message present in ‘The Explorer’, a poem by Rudyard Kipling. The poem tells story of a man discovering new land for the Queen and uncovering a Pass hidden in a mountain. However, I think that beyond the surface, the poem is ultimately about the everlasting presence of God.

Other than the presence of God being the main theme/message of the poem, another message that is present in the poem is stepping out of your comfort zone. The phrases ‘There is no sense in going further - it is the edge of cultivation’ and ‘Behind the Ranges’ make the theme of stepping out of your comfort zone all the more comprehensible. This line states that there is little to no land left to cultivate as it

Throughout the poem, Kipling refers to God by using the words ‘His’ and ‘He’. This would not mean anything if the author had not capitalised the words. Due to the fact that they are capitalised, whereas their regular counterparts are not, this indicates that the person the words are referring to is one of great importance. In this case, Kipling is referencing God. This is so, because in the Bible God is introduced as a man. The references to God add up to the theme of God’s presence as Kipling would not have referred to him if he did not feel his presence at all. The poem is written in the first person perspective. This signifies that the author could have been in this exact situation due to the use of ‘I’ throughout the poem. The use of the first person perspective further conveys the main themes expressed by the poem. Another word that recurred in the poem was ‘Pass’. The word ‘Pass’, similar to ‘His’ and ‘He’, is capitalised and likewise it symbolizes importance. ‘Pass’ could have many implications. One of which, is simply as the word suggests, to pass. With the use of this word, Kipling might have been revealing the possible fact that he had succeeded in stepping out of his comfort zone. As a result of Kipling’s careful choice of vocabulary, the main themes of God’s presence and stepping out of your comfort zone are more dramatically

The references to God is a recurring theme in the poem represented by dialogue. With the continuous citations to God in the poem, it is made clear that the author’s target audience are Christians as Christians have a strong belief in God. Because of this, the main message of the presence of God is further and more effectively expressed due to the Christian’s strong and eternal belief in God’s presence and existence. Their everlasting faith and belief in God is perennial, just like the presence of