“In the Name of Allah, the Most

Beneficent, the Most Merciful.”

PRESENTED TO:-
Ma’am Mahjabeen Khan
PRESENTED BY :-
Laiba Apilado Saleha Liaquat
Amina Qazi Sumaiya Hafeez
Sumbal Khan Muneeba Hafeez
Meerab Malik
TOPIC:-
‘IF—’ Poem
(Rudyard Kipling)
 Study of poem “IF” by Rudyard Kipling

 About the author

 Introduction of the poem
 Theme of poem
 Analysis of poem
 Message of poem
 Tone and mode of poem
 Structure and Form of the poem
About the Author
Joseph Rudyard Kipling
1865-1936
was an English short-story writer
poet and novelist.
Born in India, Bombay which at that time
belonged to Britain.
When he was 5 years of age his family
moved to England.
He was Awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1907
Kipling was also offered a knighthood on
several occasions but he declined this honor.
Introduction of 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 deal in lies,
Or being hated, 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,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
 About Poem
The poem ‘If’ was written in 1910. It describes the virtues that Kipling
believes are necessary to become a mature man. (In those days.
Women were not included in such a description.) Kipling means the
poem to be instructive. He doesn’t list abstract values about what it
takes to be a full person. Instead he gives concrete examples of the
situations that face human beings. In modern times, this poem is
regarded as a popular classic of English literature.
 Theme
In ‘If—,’ Kipling engages with themes of masculinity and
success/defeat. The first of these is incredibly central to the poem.
From the speaker’s point of view, there are very specific things the
young listener has to do to become a man. The speaker celebrates
attributes that are traditionally masculine, like strength, while also, in a
contemporary setting, raising questions in regard to what role women
have to play in society.
 Poem Analysis
The Poem
Analysis of the poem using;

• Structure SMLIE
• Meaning
• Language
• Imagery
• Effect
 Structure
Rhyme scheme of the poem?

If you can dream- and not make dreams your master, A

If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim: B
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster A
And treat those two impostors just the same : B
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken C
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, D
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, C
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools: D
 First Stanza
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, Imperatives do
But make allowance for their doubting too; not feel
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, commanding
but friendly and
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, good-natured.
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, Giving us
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: advise

The repetition ‘IF’ in the poem creates

suspense. Piling on the conditions while
delaying the consequence
 Explanation

The first stanza wastes no time in setting up the if-then scenario. Kipling writes, “If you can
keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you…” In this first
“if” scenario, Kipling reminds the reader of the importance of maintaining a level head even
when those around the reader
do not have one and are blaming the situation on the reader. It should be noted here that the
reader soon realizes the poem is really one long sentence. The poem ends on a particularly
high note, which Kipling emphasizes with his use of an exclamation point.
. The third and fourth lines present the next “if” situation.
Kipling writes, “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, / But make allowance for
their doubting too […]” Here, the speaker emphasizes two traits that all people must possess:
self-trust and the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, even if that means
understanding that people will not always like or agree with you. The final four lines of the
first stanza flow together nicely, almost sounding as though they are one complete thought.
Kipling writes:
 Conti..

“If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

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….

In these lines, the speaker is telling the reader to have patience. In addition, he informs the
reader that even if he or she is lied about, he or she should not stoop to the level of a liar.
If he or she is hated, he or she must not become hateful, and finally, the reader should not
appear to be better than he or she
actually is, nor should he or she talk in a manner that does not reflect who they are morally or
spiritually
 Second Stanza
If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim;
Personification is
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster used to promote
And treat those two impostors just the same; caution against
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken ‘impostors’ such
as ‘Trimph and
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Disaster’
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

Capital Letters- Grab our attention and make it

memorable. Disaster is negative while Trimph is
positive This shows that not everything in life will
be positive
 Explanation

“If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make
thoughts” . Here, Kipling urges his reader to dream and think but to not get so caught up in
dreams and thoughts that the reader loses his grasp on reality. Kipling uses personification in
his next two lines: .

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same;”
Kipling’s diction here is also worth mentioning. The word impostor suggests a pretense or
disguise. Perhaps he uses this word to showcase the fleeting nature of both: success never
stays, nor does disaster. Additionally, he could possibly be suggesting that these two words
often come with disruption or change. In any case, the reader should not dwell too much on
either triumph or disaster because they will soon disappear. Kipling continues right on to his
next “if” clause: .

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
.
 Conti..

The speaker informs the reader that he or she must be able to endure hearing his or her words
being twisted by dishonest and harmful people in order to serve their own agendas. He
continues this thought in the last two lines of the stanza, writing:
. “Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, “
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out” . 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.
 Third Stanza
If you can make one heap of all your winnings Hints of
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, recklessness in
And lose, and start again at your beginnings the area of
gambling ‘risk it
And never breathe a word about your loss; all’. Chances
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew can be taken and
To serve your turn long after they are gone, life should not
be mundane but
And so hold on when there is nothing in you lives to the full
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

Once again a capital letter is used to

emphasizes the importance of your will
power
 Explanation

The third stanza starts with the “if” clause continuing on into the first four lines. Kipling
writes; .

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…
The theme in these lines is very similar to the one in the last two lines of the previous
stanza: if you lose everything, you must be willing to begin again. Not only that, but you must
also be willing to forget about the loss and not dwell on it.

The next four lines of the third stanza are also tied together. The speaker states,
 Conti..

‘If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on where there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!

These lines are particularly powerful. The speaker is imploring the reader to endure, even
if that feels both physically (sinew) and emotionally (heart and nerve) impossible. It is also
worth noting the capitalization of “Will.” Perhaps Kipling wanted to emphasize the resilience
of the human spirit here by making it a power that is separate from the person who possesses it
 Fourth Stanza
By constant repetition
of the second person
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, singular ‘you’ the
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, narrator achieves a
direct appeal and
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, maintains our interest.
If all men count with you, but none too much; However by the end
If you can fill the unforgiving minute of the poem are
shocked that this is
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, addressed to his son !
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

The final exclamation mark can Words as ‘my son’ come as a

be seen as encouragement to take shock, as we realize that this is
his advice. Capital M for Man dramatic monologue
shows that to be a real man is of
graet virtue.
 Explanation

In the fourth stanza, the consequence of doing all of these “ifs” is finally revealed, but not
before Kipling presents us with three more scenarios. The first one deals with how to treat
others, regardless of their station in life. He writes:

“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
It should not matter with whom the reader is walking; he or she needs to treat the lowest of the
low and the highest in a society exactly the same–with kindness. Kipling then dives right into
the next “if”:

“If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, “

If all men count with you, but none too much
Kipling is reminding his reader that it is important to be able to bounce back from
disappointment or pain. One must not dwell on his enemies or the hurt a loved one could
potentially cause. Finally, the poet gives the reader his final piece of advice:
 Conti..

“If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

He is telling his reader to never give up or waste even a single second of time. If you are given
a minute, make sure you use all sixty seconds of it. Finally, in the last two lines, the outcome
of abiding by all of these tidbits is revealed:

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

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

If one is able to keep all of these things in check, one will have the world at one’s fingertips.
 Summary
Throughout the poem, the speaker gives the reader multiple scenarios,
both positive and negative, along with a glimpse into how one should
conduct oneself. The poem has an almost mathematical proof about it
with its if-then scenario. Kipling leaves the “then” until the final two
lines, revealing to the reader that if he or she is able to do all that was
just mentioned, he or she will not only have the world at his or her
fingertips, but he or she will also be a “Man.”
 Message
 Poem published in 1910. His son died in 1915

The poet sends us a message to ;

1. Remain humble
2. Avoid extremes
3. Find goodness even in the darkest circumstances
4. Give us advise /tell us what to do
 RECAP
 Speaker?
A Father addressing hi son.
 Subject?
Being the best person you can.
 Tone?
Informative and didactic.
 Mood?
Philosophic and reflective
Structure and Form
Rudyard Kipling separates his poem into four stanzas of equal length,
all of which contain eight lines. Each stanza has a set rhyme scheme of
(ababcdcd), with the exception of the first stanza, which has the
following rhyme scheme: (aaaabcbc) .
In terms of meter, the poem is written in iambic pentameter, with
five feet consisting of an unstressed and then a stressed syllable. The
speaker of the poem, presumably Kipling, keeps a positive and upbeat
tone throughout the work, informing the reader what he or she needs to
do in order to be a successful person in life
. Kipling makes this a very personal poem by his
use of the pronoun “you.” In fact, one could even interpret that the
poem is Kipling talking to himself or giving himself a pep talk.
Thank you