If
by Rudyard Kipling
The Poem :
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your
master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
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,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Your is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"
Summary of the Poem :
'If' is often considered to be one of the most inspirational poems written. It takes the readers through several situations, both positive and negative, that one might face in life. It is advising one to be patient, humble and honest in all situations.
The first stanza says us to keep calm and be patient while all disbelieve us and put the blame on us. We should always keep faith in us. We should not resist others to doubt us and we should not be tired of waiting. We should stop to lie or hate in spite of being lied or hated.
The second stanza tells us to dream and think but not to be lost in dreams or thoughts. We should learn to accept victory and misery in the same way. We should always be ready to face the consequences of our deeds. We should watch our destruction with a smile and start immediately with a smile.
The third stanzas challenges us to keep all our achievements at risk. It further suggests us to start again if we lose anyway. We should not repent or hold the grudges of our failure. This will help us to start afresh. We should never leave the Will when there is nothing left to hold on.
The last stanza says us to remain humble at all the situations - good or ominous. We should always remain grounded and vulnerable. But neither the friends nor the foes can hurt us. We shall mingle with common mass yet maintain our own dignity. We should use every bit of a minute.
All these will help us to be an achiever and the Earth and its things would be easy to us and overall we can be humans with all humane virtues.
Comprehension
1. The poem If has 4 stanza does the poet ask the reader to
a. be patient ? stanza 1;
b. be resilient ? stanza 2;
c. take risks ? stanza 3;
d. be humble ? stanza 4;
2. "If you can dream - and not make dreams your
master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your
aim …"
a. Why is it important to 'not make dreams your master'?
= It is important to 'not make dreams your master' because this would make us a day-dreamer. We would not be able to concentrate in our job. We shall be engaged in only dreams which will only waste our invaluable time.
b. What attitude is the poet asking the reader to adopt here?
= The poet tells us to dream and think but not to be lost in dreams or thoughts. We should learn to accept victory and misery in the same way. We should always be ready to face the consequences of our deeds. We should watch our destruction with a smile and start immediately with a smile.
c. What advice does Kipling give his readers in the next two lines?
= In the next two lines, the poet tells us to stay indifferent both in our victory and defeat. The poet also says that both victory and defeat are those who pretend to be somebody else in order to trick people. So we should treat both of them in the same way.
3. According to Kipling. how should one react to unexpected or grave loss?
= The poet challenges us to keep all our achievements at risk. It further suggests us to start again if we lose anyway. We should stay indifferent to unexpected or grave loss. We should not repent or hold the grudges of our failure. This will help us to start afresh. We should never leave the Will when there is nothing left to hold on.
4. Quote a line or pair of lines from the poem that affected you deeply. Explain what feelings these lines evoked and why.
= The first two lines of the fourth stanza affected me deeply. These lines are -
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch,"
These lines tell us to mingle in the common mass yet we should stay different holding some outstanding virtues. Here we remain special being in the common. In the very next line, the poet says us to be grounded while we are with special persons like a King. Here the poet uses antithesis to represent two opposite ideas and suggests us to hold a neutral trait in our character.
5. According to the poet, why should one develop the attitudes and practise the behaviours he has suggested in the poem? Quote the lines in which the poet states this and explain in detail.
= According to the poet, one should develop the attitudes and practise the behaviours he has suggested in the poem to be an achiever. The Earth and its things would be easy to us and overall we can be humans with all humane virtues. We are living in a world of moral crisis. It is in acute need of morality and values. People are busy only in thinking about own self. The attitudes and practise mentioned in the poem would certainly mend us to be good citizens who can take the responsibility of the Earth and make it a happy place for living.
The lines in which the poet states this are -
"Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!"
About the Poet :
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an Indian-born British author, poet and journalist. With several novels, poems and articles to his name, he is best known for his collection of short stories titled Just-So Stories, the novels The Jungle Book and Kim, as well as a collection of poems about the common soldier titled Barrack-Room Ballads, making him beloved among children and adult readers alike. Kipling turned down many honours and awards, finally accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907, becoming the first British author to win this prize.