Epigraph

An epigraph is a piece of writing that is used at the beginning of a work to set the tone of that work or to highlight thematic elements. Each chapter of Kim opens with an epigraph. Kipling prefaces each chapter with an excerpt of verse, many of which are taken from his own works. For example, chapter 5 is the chapter in which Kim is reunited with his father's army regiment and therefore with his own people. The chapter is prefaced by an excerpt from the poem "The Prodigal Son":

Here I come to my own again

Fed, forgiven and known again

Claimed by bone of my bone again,

And sib to flesh of my flesh!

The fatted calf is dressed for me,

But the husks have greater zest for me . . .

I think my pigs will be best for me,

So I'm off to the styes afresh.

The excerpt...