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!
This is a great poem! It brings in all the good and bad experiences in life and making the best of it all. This knowledgable advice can only be given as wisely as its worded through the mouth of a father. This becomes clear to the reader only at the very end of the poem, when the father finally addresses "My son". Many aspects of life are touched on here: the first stanza focuses on being true to yourself despite any of "their doubting". The second stanza highlights overcoming hardship and refusing to let anything or anycome get in the way of acheiving dreams and "If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken" then you can do anything. The third stanza emphasizes that as much as gaining success in life is fullfilling, it's just as vital to appreciate the hard work and process it takes "and never breathe a word about your loss". Part of life is living it, and taking anything that comes out you. The final stanza is explaining why keeping solid relationships with people is important, but still staying true to yourself even if it means taking a large group of people against you by storm and "keep your virtue". In the end, take nothing for granted and live life to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of Kipling's poem I felt was important was its stress on keeping balance no matter what happens in life, and taking responsibility for your actions. It's not just that we shouldn't take life for granted, although that is a major part of the poem, but it also shows us how to balance life. The second stanza particularly illustrates this outlook: "If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;/ If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim...". Kipling addresses dreams and thoughts, and for most people those two are in opposition. Dreams drive us, but they are not necessarily rooted in reality, whereas thought is reality and more analytical. He suggests that there must be a balance between dreams and reality, neither one should rule the other, in order to enjoy life. Also, he argues that we should not "deal in lies" or "give way to hating" although others may. Overall, he gives readers, or his "son", the specific tools he feels will allow for a happy, full life.
ReplyDeleteI liked this idea of balance, and it's almost as if the poem takes on a balance as well. Each stanza seems to have some of these contrary ideas: trust and doubt, dreams and actions, winning and loss,Kings and commoners. As Sara pointed out, this demonstrates not only the difficulties that will be faced but also physically demonstrates that balance can be found. With the syntax of the statement "Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’", with "Will" capitalized, the speaker lends additional emphasis for the work that must be done to achieve this balance and that it is something everyone must take upon themselves to reach.
ReplyDeleteI agree that balance is a key idea presented in this poem, however I feel that the poet is really trying to emphasize the power of self-confidence. The repetition of using "you" in many consecutive lines throughout each stanza (particularly the first 3 lines in which it is used 5 times!) highlights the idea that it is up to the individual to make decisions and ultimately decide their own destiny.
ReplyDeleteWow Brianna! That was a quite a noteworthy find! In fact, I would even go on to connect your idea of self-confidence to Emily's observation of a father figure. In the last stanza, Kipling reveals who the narrator is talking to: "Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it...my son!". With this line the poem ends with a sense of inheritance, in which the father is passing on the “earth” to his son and wants him to be well prepared, or “a Man.” However, the father clearly holds the son up to some lofty standards, as the poem revolves around significantly virtuous themes like Emily and Sara described. I feel as though the author is hinting towards religion, more specifically Christianity, where God is the Father, and Jesus Christ is the son. Much as Jesus lived a life of faith and righteousness, the son must also have these idyllic characteristics that make him a “Man”. Again, similarly to how God trusted Jesus with the world to spread the gospel as a prophet, the father figure in the poem trusts the son with the Earth. This inheritance puts the son in a savior type of position, which again draws parallels to Jesus as a messiah.
ReplyDeleteChum, now that you brought to my attention this religious reference (which I did not catch before), leads me to see the poem in a new light. After reading "If" again I picked up on what could be an alternative message. I read it as if the speaker is God preaching to humanity. The capitalization of "Man" signifies the importance and posible comparison to Jesus. This made me think that if God was preaching this poem to humanity as a whole, He was suggesting that only a god or Jesus Christ himself is able to fulfill all the descriptions of the poem. No human is perfect and we all make mistakes. The message of this poem could be that no human is able to fultill all these attributes, but that's okay because only a holy figure would truly be able to.
DeleteI would certainly agree Brianna, as your comment makes an interesting point on the ability of a man to fulfill the requirements to be “a Man.” All these contrasting statements throughout the poem, such as “dream[ing]” without making “dreams your master”, and “think[ing]” without making “thoughts your aim”, all could be interpreted to suggest balance as an integral part of life, like how Kasi and Sara said. However, due to the intense contradictory nature of these statements, I would say that they are actually promoting a lifestyle all men should strive to have, but in the end cannot entirely fulfill. And so I would like to expand even more on Brianna’s point, as I’d go even farther and connect her idea that “no human is perfect” to the Christian attributes of sin. Similar to living at the standards of Kipling’s poem, living a sinless life would be theologically impossible, as the first man, Adam, sinned and caused all humanity to be stained with the sinful nature through the male seed (Romans 5:12). As Jesus was born of God, this virgin birth allows him to be sinless. Kipling ends the poem with the fact that if one can do everything he has asked, he will inherit the Earth. But much as how many men try to live a sinless life, it is beyond the boundaries of the common. Ultimately, if someone could pass this test, they would be immensely special like Jesus and comparable to him as well. For once again, I draw the connection between “Man” and its capitalization to a Messiah or savior; only a person able to surpass the theological boundaries and the boundaries of this poem should be fit to have “the Earth.”
DeleteBriana and Alex bring up an interesting religious aspect of the poem. After reading it again, it does seem that the balance I discussed earlier would be impossible for man to find. There will always be sin and pride, someone who will hold on to dream more than reality. As Alex pointed out, Man is destined to sin, to fail, to make mistakes. One line in particular reminded me of what the Bible says Jesus was like as he walked on this Earth: "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,/
DeleteOr walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch...". Isn't this something to strive for though? Of course we will make mistakes, but it is a lovely notion that we could "fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run". The passing of time, and time itself, is a very human thing. Jesus could technically have all the time in the world because he was the son of God, but we are bound by time before we die. Time is "unforgiving" for us. Kipling understands that man isn't perfect and is restricted by the passing of time, but argues we must strive to become better and fill our lives up, and try to use Jesus as an example for how we should live.