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If - Rudyard Kipling
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Introduction : The Speaker, father talking to his son, serves as a parental advise. Shares his ideal thoughts of being a successful man. The speaker lists calmness, confidence, humility, and persistence as some of the most important manly traits to sustain and become successful in life.
Themes :
📍calmness
📍 stoicism
📍tolerance 📍 patience
📍honesty 📍modesty
📍Courage
📍 Self-confidence
📍 tenacity and industry
Persistence and patience : Stay calm even as everyone else around you is freaking out and blaming you for it; Stay confident even when other people do not trust you, while also recognizing and handling their worries; be patience and not lie, even if other people are spreading lies about you. In the event that you are able to hold back your anger toward others, even when they are against you act morally in these ways while also not getting too high of an opinion of yourself; have big goals without letting them control you.
Key to success : Look at your successes and failures in an orderly way, seeing them as temporary and not that important; know how to handle situations where dishonest people use your honest words to trick people who do not know any better.
Hustle towards success : Push yourself until you are mentally and physically worn out and then keep going depending only on your willpower to keep you going nor your allies can hurt your feelings. Interact with regular people while staying true to your morals or with the elite without becoming cocky; be polite to everyone while not admiring them too much.
Masculinity : The boy has to meet a set of rules for good behavior in order to become a "Man. As the poem suggests, becoming a man is not something you are born with or naturally do. Instead, it is a state you reach by being self-sufficient, self-mastering, and stable.
Utilize the opportunities : Take advantage of every free moment to do something meaningful, then you will have endless oportunities for success. Most importantly, my son, you will embody the qualities of a real person.
Stanza 1
The Speaker, father tells his son to stay calm and patient when other people fail and blame him. He should believe in himself even when other people doubt him. He should, however, also understand why they were skeptical and be open to their ideas.
"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,"
In the fifth line, the poet tells us to wait calmly for success and not get tired while we wait, because those who work hard and do not give up will succeed. He then tells his child that, other people may lead him astray. He should always be honest, though, and never lie in his life. He will be hated by many, but never hate them back, though; he should show them love.
Stanza 2
The poet advises, to have big dreams, but to never let them take over his life. In the same way, he should have good thoughts about his goals, the future, and other things, but he should not let them control his life. This is because working hard to achieve goals takes effort.
"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;"
In the third line, the poet says to meet Triumph and Disaster and treat them both the same. The first letters of the words "Triumph and Disaster" are all capitalized. These two extremes are what life is all about. In the poem, the author calls them fakes or impostors. Either they bring a lot of happiness or a lot of pain. Not to worry about them though, since they only last a short time.
Stanza 3
The poet insists that, before taking big risks, people should make a list of all the things they have done well. That is, people should not be afraid to try new things because they might either work out well or go horribly wrong (pitch-and-toss). If someone fails after taking big risks, he should start over and not think about or talk about the failure with other people. You need to keep trying until it works.
In the fifth line of the poem, the author says to use one's heart, nerve, and sinew, or courage, when one gets tired or fails. When there is nothing left in life, one should hold a strong will that may inspire them to "Hold on!"
"If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,"
Stanza 4
The poet says that when you are around regular people, you should keep your own qualities and never act like them. But when you are around monarchs or other strong people, you should never show vanity or ego. In other words, the poet is telling people to keep their good qualities when they are poor and not get proud when they are rich.
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,"
Next, the poet says that believing in one's ideas and goals keeps one safe from harm, whether it comes from loved friends or enemies. You should never leave them. People will rely on him a lot, but he should not ever let them become totally dependent on him. The poet might be saying that putting too much value on other people will make you feel attached to them, which will lead to problems in the future.
Conclusion : Most likely, the author, Rudyard Kipling, is telling the story and talking directly to his readers, whom he thinks are young British men. The narrator does not talk about his own experiences; instead, he gives advice using general words that could be used in different situations. Even though the narrator says a lot of bad things, he is eventually positive. The last line makes it clear that he thinks his listeners will get through their problems and deserve to be called men.
"Yours is the Earth and everything in it, / And—what is more—you will be a Man, my son!" are the last words of the poem. People can be successful and become a real "Man" a person of power, character, and moral virtue, if they have these traits and virtues.
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