ANALYSIS THOUGHTS MEANIING PARAPHRASE QUESTIONS
If- by: Rudyard Kipling Analysis:
Rudyard Kipling's poem "If—" lists a set of
conditionals for the speaker's son to follow in
order to become an ideal man. The speaker
If you can keep your head when all about you advises his son about how to perceive the world
and life's challenges so that he can both learn from
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, his experiences and resolutely overcome barriers.
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too; Thoughts
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Kipling is pointing out that sometimes, and
especially on the road to prominence, people will
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
lie about others, whether it's for their own gain,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, out of spite, or to disadvantage or humiliate
another person. A leader must not be tired by
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: this--in other words, he must accept that it will
happen and give it no importance.
If you can dream—and not make dreams your
master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your
aim;
Meaning
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and
And treat those two impostors just the same; treat those two imposters just the same” What an
incredible concept that is. If you can meet with
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
triumph and disaster and treat both equally. It
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, means you simply acknowledge the event and
continue on, come what may.
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, Paraphrase
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, In the event that you can converse with groups
and keep your goodness,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
Or on the other hand stroll with Kings—nor lose
If you can fill the unforgiving minute the normal touch,
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, In the event that neither adversaries nor
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, cherishing companions can hurt you,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! In the event that all men count with you, however
none to an extreme;
In the event that you can fill the unforgiving
moment
With sixty seconds of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and all that is in it,
What's more, which is more—you'll take care of
business, my child!
Questions
Why is Kipling’s poem titled “If”?What does the
poet say about lies and hate in ‘IF’?Why does the
poet call triumph and disaster two impostors?How
should a person develop humility in life?
