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"Recessional" is a poem by Rudyard Kipling, which he composed for the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The poem is a prayer. It describes two fates that befall even the most powerful people, armies and nations, and that threatened the British Empire at the time: passing out of existence, and lapsing from Christian faith into profanity. The prayer entreats God to spare "us" (the British Empire) from these fates "lest we forget" the sacrifice of Christ. The poem went against the celebratory mood of the time, providing instead a reminder of the transient nature of British Imperial power. In the poem Kipling argues that boasting and jingoism, faults of which he was often accused, were inappropriate and vain in light of the permanence of God. Kipling had previously composed his more famous poem "The White Man's Burden" for Victoria's jubilee, but replaced it with "Recessional". "Burden" was published two years later, altered to fit the theme of the American expansion after the Spanish–American War.〔Greenblatt, Stephen (ed.) (2006). ''Norton Anthology of English Literature''. New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-92532-3.〕 In Australia〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Recessional )〕 and New Zealand〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Ceremony – ANZAC Day )〕 "Recessional" is sung as a hymn on Anzac Day, to the tune "Melita" ("Eternal Father, Strong to Save"). The Anglican Church of Canada adopted "Recessional" as a hymn〔The Book of Common Praise, No. 316〕 and a unique musical version of the hymn is included in the 1985 hymnal of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.〔("God of Our Fathers, Known of Old" ), hymn #80, ''Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985).〕 ==Lest We Forget== The phrase "lest we forget" forms the refrain of "Recessional." It introduces the reason for the entreaty expressed in the poem: that God might spare the British Empire from oblivion or profanity "lest we forget" the sacrifice of Christ ("Thine ancient sacrifice"). The phrase later passed into common usage after World War I across the British Commonwealth especially, becoming linked with Remembrance Day observations; it came to be a plea not to forget past sacrifices, and was often found as the only wording on war memorials,〔For example, the (War memorial clock ) in the post office at Bangalow, New South Wales, the (Memorial Clock Tower ) at Goomeri, Queensland, and the (memorial clock tower ) at Pinnaroo, South Australia all have the twelve letters of "Lest We Forget" on the clock face, with L-E-S-T-W-E at 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, and 3 o'clock, in forward sequence, starting with the "F", and the letters F-O-R-G-E-T, in reverse sequence, at 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4 o'clock—meaning that the top half of the clock immediately displays "Lest we", and the bottom half "Forget", to all viewers.〕 or used as an epitaph. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Recessional (poem)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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