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IF by RUDYARD KIPLING
ABOUT THE POEM
“If—” is a poem that ranks among Rudyard Kipling’s most beloved works. He originally
wrote the poem in 1896, in response to a failed British military operation that had occurred in
South Africa the previous year. However, he first published it as a part of his 1910 book,
Rewards and Fairies, which is a work of historical fantasy that features a series of related
short stories interspersed with poems. Kipling wrote the poem as a single sentence and
structured it as a conditional statement consisting of many parallel “if” clauses followed by a
single “then” clause. The poem’s speaker is a father who addresses his son, dispensing
paternal advice about what it means to be a man. The speaker is therefore keen to
communicate his ideal vision of masculinity. The key masculine virtues outlined by the
speaker include levelheadedness, self-assurance, humility, and perseverance. The speaker’s
son will need to cultivate these virtues in order to “be a Man” (line 32). Such virtues reflect a
quintessentially British brand of stoicism, which emphasizes facing adversity with
unwavering reserve. In this sense, the form of masculinity advocated by the speaker relates to
the British idiom of “keeping a stiff upper lip.”
SUMMARY OF THE POEM
If you can stay calm when everyone around you is panicking and holding you responsible for
their panic; if you can be confident even when no one trusts you, while still taking other
people's concerns into consideration; if you can be patient; if you can avoid lying even when
people lie about you; if you cannot hate anyone even when they hate you; if you can be
virtuous in these ways, but still not think too highly of yourself;
If you can have big ambitions, without becoming a servant to them; if you can be analytical,
but not get lost in analysis for its own sake; if you can take a measured approach to successes
and failures, seeing them both as temporary and not especially meaningful; if you can handle
it when unscrupulous people distort your sincere words to deceive the ignorant; if you can
lose everything you've worked for and get right back to rebuilding it from the ground up;
If you can risk everything you've earned on a single gamble, lose it all, and begin again from
nothing without complaining; if you can push yourself to total mental and physical
exhaustion and still keep going with only your willpower to support and sustain you;
If you can mingle with the masses without losing your own moral compass, or travel in the
highest society without becoming haughty; if neither your enemies nor your friends can hurt
your feelings; if you can treat everyone with respect, but avoid idolizing anyone in particular;
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if you can fill up every second of unrelenting time with worthwhile action, then the world
will be your oyster—And, more importantly, you will be a true man, my son.
EXPLANATION
Stanza 1: The poet begins by emphasizing the importance of composure under pressure.
Keeping a calm and rational mind when others are panicking or placing blame on you is a
mark of maturity and strength. Trusting yourself, even when others doubt your abilities, is
essential, but at the same time, you should understand and empathize with their doubts
without letting them shake your confidence. Patience and perseverance are key virtues. The
poem advises enduring challenges like waiting or dealing with dishonesty and hatred without
succumbing to negative behaviour. However, it also warns against arrogance, suggesting that
humility is as important as wisdom and moral integrity.
Stanza 2: This stanza balances ambition and pragmatism. Dreams inspire us, but they should
not control us. Similarly, thinking is valuable, but it should not paralyze us from action.
Triumph (success) and Disaster (failure) are fleeting; treating them equally prevents
overconfidence in success and despair in failure. Life often distorts our efforts and sacrifices.
Here, Kipling stresses resilience—being able to face the corruption of your words and rebuild
what’s been destroyed with persistence, even when you feel exhausted or defeated.
Stanza 3: The poem encourages taking calculated risks and accepting losses with dignity.
The ability to start over without complaining or despairing shows inner strength and courage.
True determination is tested when physical and emotional resources are depleted. The poet
highlights the power of sheer willpower and grit in overcoming obstacles and persevering
through adversity.
Stanza 4: This stanza speaks about balance in relationships and behavior. Engaging with
diverse groups, from ordinary people to royalty, without losing humility or personal values is
essential. Neither enemies nor close friends should have undue influence over you,
maintaining emotional equilibrium. Time is precious and should be used to its fullest. The
ability to make every moment count leads to ultimate fulfillment. By mastering the virtues
described throughout the poem, one achieves not just material success ("the Earth") but moral
and personal maturity ("you’ll be a Man").
Themes in the Poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling
The themes in "If" offer timeless lessons about self-management, character, and resilience.
They encourage us to develop emotional strength, moral integrity, and a balanced approach to
life. By practicing these values, we can lead a life of purpose and fulfillment, no matter the
challenges we face.
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1.Self-Control and Emotional Balance
Kipling emphasizes the importance of staying calm and composed in challenging situations.
The poem advises not to let emotions like anger, fear, or frustration take over, even when
others around you are losing control. This theme highlights the value of keeping a level head
during tough times, which helps make rational decisions and maintain inner peace.
Kipling stresses the importance of keeping a calm and composed mind during difficult
situations.
Textual Reference:
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,"
This suggests the need for emotional control, especially when surrounded by chaos or
criticism. By practicing this, we can handle pressure with grace and maintain focus.
2.Perseverance and Resilience
The poem focuses on the need to keep going, even when life gets difficult or you face
failures. Kipling talks about rebuilding what is lost and holding on when you feel like giving
up. This theme teaches us the importance of perseverance, encouraging us to never lose hope
and to start again, no matter how hard things become.
The poem highlights the value of persistence and resilience, even in the face of failure or
disappointment.
Textual Reference:
"Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;"
This teaches us to rebuild and recover, no matter how devastating the loss may seem,
showing the strength of perseverance.
3.Humility and Integrity
Another key theme is staying humble and honest, even when you achieve success or face lies
and hatred from others. Kipling advises against being arrogant or deceitful, emphasizing the
importance of maintaining strong moral values and treating others with kindness and respect.
Kipling advises remaining honest and kind, even when faced with lies and hatred. He also
warns against arrogance.
Textual Reference:
"Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;"
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These lines emphasize the importance of humility and integrity in staying grounded and
virtuous.
4.Courage and Risk-Taking
Kipling encourages taking risks and being brave enough to start over if you fail. The poem
suggests that life involves uncertainty, and success often comes to those who have the
courage to take calculated risks and learn from their mistakes.
Kipling celebrates the courage to take risks and face failures with determination.
Textual Reference:
"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;"
This inspires us to be bold in pursuing goals, accepting losses, and beginning again without
complaints.
5.Time Management and Productivity
The poem teaches the value of time and urges us to use every moment wisely. Kipling
reminds us that time is limited, and making the most of it can lead to a meaningful and
fulfilling life.
The poem emphasizes using every moment wisely to achieve great things.
Textual Reference:
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,"
This teaches us that time is precious and should be spent productively, making the most of
every second.
6.Balance in Relationships
Kipling highlights the need to balance relationships with others while staying true to yourself.
He advises treating everyone equally, whether they are ordinary people or influential leaders,
friends or enemies without losing your values or becoming too dependent on others.
Kipling stresses the importance of treating everyone with respect while staying true to
oneself.
Textual Reference:
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,"
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This encourages balancing humility and confidence in relationships, regardless of others’
status or position.
7.Success and Failure as Equal Impostors
The poem presents success and failure as temporary and equally deceptive. Kipling teaches
us to treat both with the same attitude, without letting success make us overconfident or
failure make us lose hope. This balanced approach helps maintain stability in life.
Kipling encourages viewing success and failure with the same detachment, as both are
temporary.
Textual Reference:
"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;"
These lines highlight the fleeting nature of both triumphs and setbacks, teaching us not to be
overly affected by either.
By practicing these principles—self-control, resilience, humility, courage, time
management, and emotional balance—we can live a well-rounded and fulfilling life. These
lessons remain relevant for navigating modern challenges and achieving personal growth.
8. Manhood and Masculinity
The poem reflects some rather old-fashioned ideas about masculinity; after all, the self-
sufficiency and levelheadedness the speaker describes would be virtues in any person, and
marking them out as specifically male feels antiquated and sexist. Yet poem also doesn’t just
grant every man these qualities, and instead suggests that men must earn manhood.
Masculinity, the poem insists, is a demanding goal that one must strive for, and the few who
achieve virtuous manhood enjoy a rock-solid sense of self. To be a capital-M "Man," in this
speaker's view, is a virtue, an achievement, and its own reward.
The whole poem is built around a set of goalposts, standards of good behavior that a boy has
to achieve in order to become a "Man." Manhood isn't inborn or natural, the poem suggests,
but a state one achieves through self-sufficiency, self-mastery, and stability. To be a man, the
"son" the speaker addresses must learn to "keep [his] head," "lose, and start again at [his]
beginnings," and "talk with crowds and keep [his] virtue": in other words, he has to develop
an inner security that makes him brave, centered, and unflappable. The sheer length of the
poem's list of instructions suggests that this is hard work!
The rewards of this kind of difficult self-mastery, the speaker suggests, are great: being a
"Man" means even more than having "the Earth and everything that's in it" at one's disposal.
Manhood, in this poem's view, is its own reward, providing its possessors with an
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unshakeable sense of self. The speaker's capitalization of the word "Man" suggests that he
sees manhood as an honourable title: becoming a "Man" is like earning a degree or being
knighted.
To the modern reader, all this might sound narrow and sexist, since it seems to single certain
good human qualities out as specifically male. But this vision of a distinct and virtuous
masculinity fits right into the speaker's Edwardian worldview, in which gender roles were
clear, separate, and rigid—and male authority was taken for granted. Reading masculinity as
an achievement, the speaker makes it clear that, in his view, the powers and responsibilities of
Edwardian maleness are earned, not automatic.
Read the poem carefully and closely. List the various dictums as proposed by Kipling.
What do you think could be the possible effects if you practice them?
Dictums Proposed by Kipling
Kipling offers a series of principles or dictums in the poem that guide us toward a virtuous,
resilient, and balanced life. Here are the key dictums:
1. Maintain composure under pressure:
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,"
2. Trust yourself but remain open-minded:
"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;"
3. Exercise patience:
"If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,"
4. Avoid deceit and hatred:
"Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,"
5. Stay humble:
"And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;"
6. Dream and think, but don’t let them control you:
"If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;"
7. Treat success and failure equally:
"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;"
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8. Rebuild after setbacks:
"Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;"
9. Take risks with courage:
"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,"
10. Persevere beyond exhaustion:
"If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,"
11. Stay grounded with all people:
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,"
12. Let nothing overpower your spirit:
"If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;"
13. Make the most of time:
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,"
Possible Effects of Practicing These Dictums
1. Emotional Resilience:
You’ll develop the strength to face life’s ups and downs without being overwhelmed
by emotions.
2. Improved Relationships:
By balancing empathy and emotional detachment, you’ll build deeper and more
harmonious connections.
3. Humility and Confidence:
You’ll trust yourself while remaining grounded and open to feedback.
4. Productivity and Efficiency:
Learning to value time will make you more focused and purposeful in your actions.
5. Adaptability:
The ability to rebuild after failure ensures growth and continued success.
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6. Leadership Qualities:
Staying composed under pressure and treating everyone equally fosters respect and
trust, traits of a great leader.
7. Inner Peace and Fulfillment:
By practicing patience, humility, and perseverance, you’ll achieve personal
contentment and peace.
By following Kipling’s advice, you’ll cultivate a life of integrity, strength, and purpose,
enabling you to navigate challenges with grace and confidence.
What notions of self-management do you see in the poem? How do you think they are
relevant in your life? List a few instances to demonstrate the same.
Notions of Self-Management in the Poem
1. Emotional Control:
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,"
Remaining calm under pressure and not letting others' chaos influence you.
2. Self-Belief with Open-Mindedness:
"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;"
Balancing confidence with humility, allowing space for self-reflection.
3. Patience and Endurance:
"If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,"
Practicing patience in the face of delays and setbacks.
4. Integrity and Humility:
"Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,"
Acting with honesty and kindness, regardless of external negativity.
5. Adaptability and Resilience:
"Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;"
Recovering from failures and starting anew with perseverance.
6. Time Management:
"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,"
Making the most of every moment by being productive and focused.
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7. Balancing Relationships:
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,"
Maintaining humility in all interactions, regardless of status.
Relevance in Life and Personal Instances
1. Emotional Control:
Relevance: Helps maintain focus during stressful situations.
Instance: During a group project in college, tensions ran high due to differing
opinions. By staying calm and mediating, I helped resolve conflicts and completed the
task efficiently.
2. Self-Belief with Open-Mindedness:
Relevance: Encourages confidence without arrogance.
Instance: While preparing for a competition, I believed in my abilities but also sought
feedback from mentors, which improved my performance.
3. Patience and Endurance:
Relevance: Prevents impulsive decisions.
Instance: Waiting for a long-overdue job interview call, I used the time to improve my
skills instead of giving in to frustration, which ultimately helped me secure the
position.
4. Integrity and Humility:
Relevance: Builds trust and respect in relationships.
Instance: When faced with false accusations in a workplace misunderstanding, I
avoided retaliating and clarified my stance respectfully, which earned me credibility.
5. Adaptability and Resilience:
Relevance: Teaches recovery after failure.
Instance: After failing an important exam, I analyzed my mistakes, revised my
strategy, and succeeded in the retake.
6. Time Management:
Relevance: Maximizes productivity.
Instance: While balancing studies and extracurricular activities, creating a daily
schedule helped me achieve my goals without feeling overwhelmed.
7. Balancing Relationships:
Relevance: Encourages humility and genuine interactions.
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Instance: During a team-building exercise, I treated everyone with respect, whether
they were senior leaders or new interns, fostering collaboration and mutual respect.
The notions of self-management in Kipling’s poem are timeless and universally relevant.
They serve as guiding principles for personal growth, helping navigate challenges, build
meaningful relationships, and achieve success with integrity and resilience.
