If

Background of the Poem

The poem “If” is a masterpiece written by a British Poet Rudyard Kipling in 1895. It was first published in 1910 in the chapter “Brother Square Toes” of the book “Rewards and Fairies” which is a collection of Rudyard Kipling’s poetry and short-story fiction.

The poem is an inspirational one written in second-person narrative. The narrator directly addresses his reader throughout the poem in order to inspire him with what he is saying. It has a positive and motivating tone. It consists of four stanzas, each one having eight lines. It is written in iambic pentameter.

This poem is about a father addressing his son to have faith in himself. The father reveals the secret to his son to become a better human being. He motivates him to adopt certain traits in order to succeed in life. The son is told by the father to never give up after failure but to get up, reunite his soul and begin his struggle again.

Rudyard Kipling took inspiration from the life of Leander Starr Jameson for writing this poem. Jameson was a British colonial and later on the 10th Prime Minister of Cape Colony. He was best known for his “Jameson Raid” (Dec 1895-Jan 1896), on Transvaal after assembling a private army, to overthrow the Boer Government of Paul Krauger because they were occupying large parts of South Africa that contained riches and resources. 

In the beginning, the British Government supported the raid but it disowned him after the plan failed. Jameson was kept in prison in Africa for fifteen months. He stayed firm in hard situations and took all the blames on himself. 

This poem is said to be based on Jameson’s life and the sufferings he faced as a result of “Jameson Raid”.

If by Rudyard Kipling Summary

Stanza I: Lines 1-8

The poem begins with the narrator, being a father, addressing his son saying that he should keep calm in the situation of crisis when all the others around him are panicking and blaming him. He should trust himself when all the people around him discourage him. Though he has confidence in himself and his decision, he should also listen to the opinions people give him. 

He should learn to be patient and not feel irritated by waiting. If someone does any bad to him or speaks lies about him, he should not do bad in return. If he is hated by people, he should not be hateful in return but rather stay positive. He then advises his son neither to show off to people nor act arrogant but to stay modest.

Stanza II: Lines 9-16

The narrator continues advising his son that it is good to dream high, have ambitions and goals but he must not allow his dreams to rule him. He should not lose connection with reality.

If he thinks about his future and plans for it, he should not just sit and keep thinking. He needs to act upon the plans. If he achieves success or face failure, he should treat them equally. 

He neither should dwell in success if he achieves it and nor should he let himself collapse if he faces failure. He must not allow them to distract him because both of them are not long-lasting.

He must have the courage and patience to listen to the things said by him but are modified by some dishonest men. He needs to be strong enough to see the most important things in his life to be broken, he must gather the courage to fix them and start trying again.

Stanza III: Lines 17-24

The narrator keeps advising his son that if he can take a chance in life and risk everything even if he loses. He should start trying again after losing and must not quit or give up. He must not complain about his loss to other people. He needs to be self-sufficient and must not look up to people when things go wrong. He should keep trying even though he is too exhausted to continue. He should stay strong and firm even if he has no strength left in him except for the inner voice in him that keeps him moving.

Stanza IV: Lines 25-32

The advice continues as the father says to his son to be social and keep in touch with his social group but not to lose his individual goodness and integrity so that people may not be able to misguide him. He says that when he becomes successful in life and his status rises. He should not lose connection with his roots and the people where he has come from because that is his reality. 

He advises him not to allow anyone to hurt him, be they friends or enemies. He advises him to let people depend on him but not to take too much advantage of him. He also asks him to make good use of his time and if he acts upon the given advice, the world, and everything herein, will belong to him. It will make him a Man.

Themes in the Poem

 

Stoicism

 

It is the endurance of pain and hardships without any complaint. The narrator advises his son not to complain about his loss in front of people rather be strong and self-sufficient. No matter how harsh the situation may be, the son is advised to stay stiff-necked and brave.

 

Advice and Guidance

 

The poem is an advice and a guidance that a father gives to his son. The father wants his son to become a better human being and achieve success in life. In order to become a noble and successful man in life, the son is told to act upon the advice his father gives him and to avoid the negative things in life.

 

Living Life to its Fullest

 

The narrator advises his son to take risks and chances in life. He tells him to live life to its fullest. When a person fears taking risks, his life becomes empty and boring. He can achieve nothing in life. In order to become a successful person and to achieve greater things in life, one should take risks and try every path that might reach his goal.

 

Parent-child Relationship

 

This poem talks about parent-child relationships. A father gives advice to his son in a friendly and rather unemotional way but he does care for his son and wants him to achieve success in life and to become a better human being.

 

Avoid Extremes

 

The son is advised by his father to avoid extremes. The father advises his son to be a modest person so that it would be easy to walk with kings and keep in touch with common people. He is also advised neither to be too good nor to be hateful but to keep a balance.

 

Remain Humble

 

The father tells his son to be humble. He is advised to be good to everyone. If someone does bad to him, he should let go of the negative things and stay positive. He should listen to the opinions of people and what they say, though he takes a decision of his own. He should be good to all and never be hateful to haters. This is the way to success.

 

Men and Masculinity

 

The poem has a masculine theme, it is about teaching boys how to become men. The father specifically addresses his son and teaches him different ways towards goodness and success. He advises him to adopt certain traits in order to become a “Man”.

 

Loss and Defeat

 

In the poem, the father wants to tell his son that loss and defeat is a part of life. If one fails to achieve something even after trying hard, he must not give up trying. He should rather try hard and achieve his goal.

The person may become exhausted and wants to quit it but he should not quit trying because when a person fails in achieving his goal for the first time, he discovers new ways of achieving his goal and this is how success is achieved.

If by Rudyard Kipling Analysis

The poem is a motivational one in the form of a dramatic monologue.  A father, who is the narrator of the poem, is explaining different personality traits to his son to adapt them in order to be a good and humble man. The father advises his son in a fatherly but friendly way. The tone is rather unemotional but caring. The poem consists of four octaves, all of them provide guidance and advice.

The poem progresses with the advice and guidance of the father. He asks his son to be positive and stay calm even when it is hard to. He advises him to stay confident and believe in himself even though people discourage him. The father wants his son to have a strong faith in himself and his decisions. The father after providing him with a list of advises, tells him that if he can adapt all these traits they will make him a better human being and a successful man in life ahead.

The frequent use of the pronoun “you” makes the poem a direct address to the reader which creates an interest in the reader’s mind to act upon the listed advice. The guidance provided in the poem is in a polite way so the reader takes it as a list of friendly advice directly made to him.

Through different poetic techniques, the poet has made this long list of advice, an interesting piece of literature. Every point is beautifully explained in the form of “if” and “then” conditional clauses in order to make it clear that if the reader adopts a positive trait or avoids a negative thing, what will happen in return. After reading this poem, the reader gets motivated to do good and avoid bad things.

Genre

The poem “If” is a dramatic monologue where the narrator speaks continuously, providing guidance and advice to the reader. The narrator, being a father, addresses his son and guides him how to become a perfect man. The narrator, while advising his son, is not interrupted by any other person.

Point of view

Second-person point of view is used in the poem in order to make a direct connection with the reader. The poem is a list of advice that a father gives to his son so it makes the reader able to put himself in the position of the son. Second-person narrative is also important in a sense that it creates an interest in the mind of the reader to listen to the advice and act upon them. While reading the poem, a reader feels it as a direct address to him.

Tone

The tone of the poem is advisory, didactic and fatherly. Since the poem is a long list of advices its tone remains the same throughout the poem. It guides the reader to live a life full of faith and dignity. The reader is advised to have faith in himself and lead an honorable life.

Symbolism in the Poem

 

Walk with kings

 

“Or walk with kings-nor lose the common touch,” (line 26)

In the above line, walk with kings is a symbol for high status and success. A person must not lose connection with common people in his life after achieving high status and success, he should rather keep a balance.

 

Crowds

 

“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,” (line 25)

Here crowds symbolize common people. The reader is advised here to keep his personal goodness and individual dignity in the midst of a crowd so that people may not misguide him.

 

Common touch

 

“Or walk with kings-nor lose the common touch,” 

In the above line, common touch is a symbol for humility and modesty. A person after achieving success must not lose the connection with common people. He is advised to stay modest.

 

Man

 

“And-which is more-you will be a Man, my son!” (line 32)

Here the “Man” is a symbol of good qualities that the father wants his son to adopt.

Metaphor

 

Imposters

 

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster (line 11)

And treat those imposters just the same;” (line 12)

In the above lines Triumph and Disaster are compared to imposters using a metaphor. The reader is told to treat them equally. He should not dwell in his success as it is not long-lasting. He must also not lose heart after facing failure because it is not permanent. They both do not stay permanently in a person’s life but come and go.

 

Knaves

 

“If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken” (line 13)

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,” (line 14)

Here the metaphor knaves is used for dishonest people.

 

Gambling

 

“If you can make one heap of all your winnings,” (line 17)

In the above line taking a chance or risk in life is compared to the game of gambling. A person while taking risks may win or lose just like the game of gambling.

 

Dream

 

“If you can dream-and not make dreams your master,” (line 9)

Here, the metaphor dream is used to talk about one’s goals in life. It refers to one’s ambitions and goals that one wants to achieve but while dreaming about achieving that goal one should be rational and realistic as well.

Personification

 

Triumph and Disaster

 

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,

And treat those imposters just the same;”

Triumph and Disaster are personified to imposters. It is said that if you meet these two, never believe them to be real and long-lasting but temporary. 

 

Will

 

“Expect the Will which says to them Hold on!” (line 24)

Will is personified here by giving it the human quality of speaking. The narrator says that those who are exhausted and tired of trying, their will power motivates them to keep moving.

Anaphora

It is the repetition of the same word at the beginning of lines in a stanza.

The word “If” is repeated at the beginning of almost every line of the poem to build a conditional clause and guide the reader that “if” he does something, what will happen as a consequence.

Epistrophe

It is the repetition of the same word at the end of neighbouring lines.

“If you can keep your head when all about you, (line 1)

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” (line 2)

The above lines have the word you repeated at their ends. This second-person pronoun is used repeatedly, to address the reader directly in order to advise him.

Antithesis

It is the use of two contrasting things in a line. 

“If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,” (line 27)

Here foes and friends are two opposite words.

Enjambment

It is the continuation of a clause beyond the line break.

“If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,”

Here the sense of the first line is continuous with the second one for complete understanding. It occurs frequently in the poem because this poem is a long list of advice that a father gives to his son.

Caesura

It is a rhythmical pause in a poetic line.

“If you can dream-and not make dreams your master, (line 9)

If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim,” (line 10)

In the above lines, the hyphen is an example of caesura. It is used to set the rhythm of the line. It allows the reader to take time to think and reflect on what is said in the line.

Imperatives

Since this poem is a long list of advice and guidance that a father gives his son. It has frequent use of imperatives.

“Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, (line 6)

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, (line 7)

And yet don’t look too good, nor too wise;” (line 8)

The above used imperatives are not strict commands. They are friendly advice that a father gives his son.

Capitalization

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster”

The capitalization here is for emphasis. The poet wants the reader to know the importance of these two, in life. They are not real and long-lasting so one should treat them in the same way.

“Expect the Will that says to them Hold on!”

Will is capitalized in order to emphasize its importance. The will, of an exhausted person who is tired of trying, keeps telling the person to keep trying and not to give up.

Alliteration

 

• “And-which is more-you’ll be a Man my son!” (line 32)

 

• “Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools” (line 14)

 

 

The above two lines show the repetition of the consonant “m” and “t” respectively, at the beginning of the neighbouring words.

Assonance

 

• “And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:” (line 8)

 

The above line shows the repetition of the vowel “o”.

Meter

The poem follows the metrical pattern of iambic pentameter. Each line of the poem has five feet. Each foot consists of one stressed and unstressed syllable.

If you | can keep | you head | when all | about | you

Rhyme scheme

The poem has an “ababcdcd” rhyme scheme except for the first line of the poem which has “aaaa bcbc”.