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Unit 9: “If” by Rudyard Kipling

In modern times, “If” remains widely anthologised and is regarded as a popular classic of Notes
English literature, not necessarily for a display of artistry but for its familiarity and inspiration.

9.1 Introduction to Author

Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30, 1865 in then Bombay, India. He was educated in
England but returned to India in 1882. In 1892, Kipling married Caroline Balestier and settled
in Brattleboro, Vermont where he wrote The Jungle Book and “Gunga Din.” Eventually becoming
the highest paid writer in the world, Kipling was recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1907. He died in 1936.

Quotes
”Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
—Rudyard Kipling

Early Years
Considered one of the great English writers, Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30,
1865, in Bombay (now called Mumbai), India. At the time of his birth, his parents, John and
Alice, were recent arrivals in India. They had come, like so many of their countrymen, with
plans to start new lives and to help the British government run the continent. The family lived
well, and Kipling was especially close to his mother. His father, an artist, was the head of the
Department of Architectural Sculpture at the Jeejeebhoy School of Art in Bombay.
For Kipling, India was a wondrous place. Along with his younger sister, Alice, he reveled in
exploring the local markets with his nanny. He learned the language, and in this bustling city
of Anglos, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews, Kipling fell in love with the country and its
culture.

However, at the age of 6, Kipling’s life was torn apart when his mother, wanting her son to
receive a formal British education, sent him to Southsea, England, where he attended school
and lived with a foster family named the Holloways.
These were hard years for Kipling. Mrs. Holloway was a brutal woman, who quickly grew to
despise her young foster son. She beat and bullied Kipling, who also struggled to fit in at
school. His only break from the Holloways came in December, when Kipling, who told nobody
of his problems at school or with his foster parents, travelled to London, where he stayed with
relatives for the month.
Kipling’s solace came in books and stories. With few friends, he devoted himself to reading.
He particularly adored the work of Daniel Defoe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Wilkie Collins.
When Mrs. Holloway took away his books, Kipling snuck around her, pretending to play in
his room by moving furniture along the floor while he read.
By the age of 11, Kipling was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. A visitor to his home saw
his condition and immediately contacted his mother, who rushed back to England and rescued
her son from the Holloways. To help relax his mind, Alice took her son on an extended
vacation and then placed him in a new school in Devon. There, Kipling flourished and discovered
his talent for writing, eventually becoming editor of the school newspaper.

Kipling as a Young Writer

In 1882, Kipling was told by his parents that they didn’t have enough money to send him to
college. Instead, they had him return to India. It was a powerful moment in the young writer’s

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