If-Rudyard Kipling |Bangalore University |Poem Analysis

 

If

Rudyard Kipling

visit website https://sugarybloom.blogspot.com

About the author

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. He was born in India, which inspired much of his work.

Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894),Kim  (1901), and many short stories, including "The man who would be king"" (1888). His poems include "Mandalay" (1890), "Gunga Din" (1890), "The White Man's Burden: The united States and the Philippine Islands" (1899), and "If" (1910). He is seen as an innovator in the art of the short story. His children's books are classics; one critic noted "a versatile and luminous narrative gift."

Kipling in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was among the United Kingdom's most popular writers. In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, as the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and at 41, its youngest recipient to date.

"If'"is an inspirational poem that provides the readers, advice on how one should live one’s life The poet is, informing the reader what one needs to do in order to be a successful in life. '. The poem takes the reader through various ways in which one should handle different situations in life that will almost certainly be thrown one’s way at some point in one’s lives. The poet leaves the “then” until the final two lines, revealing to the reader that if one is able to do all that was just mentioned, one will not only have the world at one's fingertips, but one will also be a “Man.”

Poem analysis

If you can keep your head when all about you   
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

By the words  “keep your head” poet here means to stay calm, to resist panic,to be able to think clearly. Here the word "head" is indicating indirectly the mind, the brain, and the ability to think.The poet is  saying  that one should learn not to lose control of mind even if others act  mad .People constantly have the habit of doing all mad and insane  things when they are out of their mind and then  usually put the blame on others.

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

Here the  poet is saying to  believe in oneself.One should always have belief in one's capabilities even if others won't approve or doubt about it.This is very important in achieving success in life.But according to poet this alone is not enough as it is also important to consider the claims of others doubt about us.Before going ahead with one's own ideas it is also important to evaluate one's schemes and plans. The poet says that  to be a man one must be  be able to respect the doubts of others, as this will help to know what is right and wrong.It is not about going ahead with one's own ideas but  having the humility to take the advice and thoughts of others into consideration whenever it is appropriate.

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

The poet is saying that one must have  patience and  must not be tired of waiting .Even if things don't happen in one's way, if one has the patience to wait and not tired of waiting, his dreams will become reality.The poet is then saying that if one is tired about other people lying about him, one should not degrade  oneself into the low standard of those people.The poet is pointing out that sometimes, on the road to prominence, people will lie about others, whether it's for their own gain or to disadvantage or humiliate another person. A leader must not be tired by this-- he must accept that it is normal for people to do such things and give it no importance. The poet also  reminds  not to "deal in lies"  and says that one must not put much importance on lies about oneself, but must also consciously resist lying about others in one's climb to success. 

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

The poet says that if one is being hated by others, he must give away hating and must learn to love others is spite of their hate.Sometimes people hate a person for no reason and so the poet says that it is common for normal people to do so but to be a man one should stay away from such attitudes.This poem is all about balance and perfecting one's attributes. "Don't look too good" means one is not putting on airs, not going to great lengths to outshine everyone. Sometimes people want to look too good or wise to show that they are better than everyone.

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

To do something bigger, we should dream first. If you can dream and make use of your dreams, then it is good to dream, but if all you do is simply dream, and nothing ever comes of your dreams, then you have allowed your dreams to master you or control you. Some people only dream and never work hard to make their dreams come true. They allow their dreams to consume them.But the poet also reminds us not to be guided by unrealistic dreams. If dreams take the driver’s seat, one would get detached from reality and eventually fail.

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

 The word impostor  means a person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others, especially for fraudulent gain. Triumph and disaster as described as two impostors by the poet. By "triumph," the poet means moments of success and accomplishment in life, while by "disaster," he implies the time of failure or loss. It's human nature to celebrate and rejoice at the time of success and victory. In a similar way, disaster brings in frustration and despair.In any case,  the poet says that one should not dwell too much on either triumph or disaster because both  are not permanent and  will soon change.

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

The poet says that one must be able to endure hearing his or her words being twisted by dishonest and harmful people in order to serve their own agendas.Knaves or dishonest people are known to twist the truth.The poet  means that sometimes, even when one speak the truth, others will change one's words to hurt others or convince others of untrue things.By "to make a trap for fools" the poet means that people  fall easily into the trap of liars as they have the habit of blindly believing what others say without taking any effort to see what is true and what is false.Poet consider this as foolishness as one should not blindly believe others.

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

the poet continues speaking of the importance of being able to pick oneself up and start again if one fail even if the thing one have failed at, has taken all of their life to attempt. The poet says that one must always be prepared to start again Not only that, but one must also be willing to forget about the loss and not dwell on it.  By stoop poet means starting from the beginning and the word worn out tools indicate the  hard work, effort, time and energy one had already put into achieving his dreams.The poet here means that one should strive again from the beginning to build one's dreams and ideals with those worn-our tools.

                                      If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

Failure is certainly not a pleasant experience. It might lead to depression and despair. However, the poet asks the reader not to be disappointed by failure as it is not the end; instead, the one should “start again at your beginnings.” This time the poet advises one about money, particularly about how to handle things if he loses it all. If one can put all his or her money in a giant heap and gamble it all away, but then start over and never tell anybody about the loss.One must have  a great deal of  courage  to take such a step as there is no assurance of success. But the poet is advising about taking risks in life with courage even though one is not sure of the outcome. The words "pitch-and-toss" are gambling words, but gambling is here used as a metaphor,  for earning money and losing it by taking chances.

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss; 

The poet is saying about showing courage in taking risks. According to the poet,being awesome and courageous is in the ability  to earn, take chances, lose, and  be quiet and strong about it, and move on—The poet is saying that even if one lose everything one has earned by taking risks, one should have the will power and determination to  start again from the scratch and should never think or speak a word about one's loss even for a second.

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

Even if those nerves and sinews are totally exhausted and worn out, one thing still remains: the will to go on. "serve your turn" is a way of saying "do things on your behalf" or "do what you want them to do."The body gets tired and worn out. This is what "long after they are gone means." 

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If one can force his body to keep pushing further, even when it is worn out and tired, even when one feels like one has nothing left except the will to "hold on," then one can make the impossible things possible. The poet is asking one to hold on as failure is  not the end and is temporary and only when one gives up one actually fails.The will is the internal desire or motivation which is so powerful,  that it can force those worn-out muscles to hold on and keep going.The  invisible power of the will is so strong, it can make things possible.The poet is asking one to hold on as failure and success are both temporary as as long as one is optimistic one can eventually reap success.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

In the last stanza  poet advises about how to interact with different types of people."Kings" and "crowds" symbolize two extremes of the society: kings symbolize the rich, noble and the aristocratic people and the other extreme are the common or regular people.The poet is encouraging the skill to  hang with both groups, but not to be influenced by either.If one can talk with crowds and still keep one's ethics, or hang with kings but still keep his connection with the common folk then one can be a leader

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

In the same way that one should be able to hang with kings and commoners, one should allow neither his friends nor his enemies to hurt him.By saying if all men "count with" (support) him, or find him important, but none of them too much, the poet means that getting overly-excited or obsessed with anything is,not a good thing as too much obsession or involvement with anyone can cause disappointment or pain. This helps one not to dwell on his enemies or the hurt a loved one could potentially cause.  

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

The phrase "unforgiving minute" is a way of saying, "you only get sixty seconds in a minute." It is "unforgiving" because, one will only  get sixty seconds ever, no more, no less. It  means making the most of it," or  do as much as one can while one still can. A distance run is a long run, and the poet by  saying "run as far as you can in that sixty seconds" he tells one to never give up or waste even a single second of time. If one is given a minute, one must make sure that one makes all sixty seconds worthy of it.

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

In the last lines poet is revealing the  reward of doing all of these “ifs”  and his  final piece of advice:  According to the poet if one is able to keep all of these things in check, one will have the world  and everything in it at one’s fingertips and above all  most importantly one would be a "man"

Questions and answers

What is meant by the expression "keep your heads"

By the words  “keep your head” poet here means to stay calm, to resist panic,to be able to think clearly. Here the word "head" is indicating indirectly the mind, the brain, and the ability to think.The poet is  saying  that one should learn not to lose control of mind even if others act  mad .People constantly have the habit of doing all mad and insane  things when they are out of their mind and then  usually put the blame on others.

What advice does the narrator have about the dreams

According to the narrator, to do something bigger, we should dream first. If one can dream and make use of one's dreams, then it is good to dream, but if all one do is simply dream, and nothing ever comes of one's dreams, then one have allowed his/her dreams to master him or her. Some people only dream and never work hard to make their dreams come true. They allow their dreams to consume them.But the poet also reminds us not to be guided by unrealistic dreams. If dreams take the driver’s seat, one would get detached from reality and eventually fail.

How are triumph and disaster described as?

Triumph and disaster as described as two impostors by the poet. By "triumph," the poet means moments of success and accomplishment in life, while by "disaster," he implies the time of failure or loss. It's human nature to celebrate and rejoice at the time of success and victory. In a similar way, disaster brings in frustration and despair.In any case,  the poet says that one should not dwell too much on either triumph or disaster because both  are not permanent and  will soon change.

Who is known to twist the truth

Knaves or dishonest people are known to twist the truth.he means that sometimes, even when you speak the truth, others will change your words to hurt others or convince others of untrue things.

How does the narrator tell his son to deal with the risks

The speaker demonstrates in these lines the importance of being able to pick oneself up and start again if they fail—even if the thing they’ve failed at has taken all of their life to attempt. The reader must always be prepared to start again.

what according to the narrator must we do if we fail

Failure is certainly not a pleasant experience. It might lead to depression and despair. However, the poet asks the reader not to be dispirited by failure; instead, the reader should “start again at your beginnings.”The poet asks the reader to “hold on.” Failure is not essentially the end. It's only when one becomes pessimistic and gives up that he or she fails

What is meant by common touch

By "common touch" the poet means ordinary people or common man who are the majority around us.According to the poet one must have the ability to deal and mingle with common people, as common people can be very influencing  as we have to deal with them in our everyday life.Even after dealing with them on  all walks of life one must be able to keep his or her virtue.

How is the crowd corrupting 

Crowd is  a mix of many people from all walks of life. .There will be all sorts of people good as well as bad who can influence one morally and sometimes it becomes very difficult to stand against the flow of corruption as one will be alone if he or she is acting against the flow.So the crowd is considered as corrupting as it makes common man easily corrupted with their influence.The poet is saying that while dealing with crowd  one must have the ability to interact and spend time with people from all walks of life as well as not to degrade oneself, nor to put on airs.

Go to Home