Page 104 - DENG104_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_I

Unit 9: “If” by Rudyard Kipling

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Notes

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!
Explanation: The first stanza touches on several character traits: self-confidence, courage,
patience and honesty. His words “If you can keep your head,” “If you can trust yourself,” and
“If you can wait and not be tired by waiting” show those traits. If these traits are absent then
they would be the great obstacles for the leader.
These are as follows:-
— irrationality (“keep your head...”)
— doubt in oneself (“trust yourself”)

— impatience (“wait and not be tired by waiting”)
— petty behaviour (“don’t deal in lies”)
— immoderation (“don’t look too good...”)
The second stanza deals with what you may do for the public, yet not have personal reasons
or gain behind it. You can face trouble as easily as you face success, and you can take something
that broke--even though you worked so hard for it--you can rebuild it all over again. That
shows a hard work ethic. Thus from this stanza , the hindrances which have to be overcome
are as follows:-

— being unrealistic (“not make dreams your master”)
— postponing (“not make thoughts your aim”)
— overreacting (“meet with triumph and disaster”)
— weakness (be able to withstand misfortune)

The third stanza speaks of taking everything you’ve worked for and risk it all, and then lose
it and have to start again. The key to that is not telling anyone of your loss. That shows
integrity. That’s in the line “And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath
a word about your loss.” Then it says you must take all you have within you, and when you
are at your lowest point, you still have to have the will to try. This shows perseverance.
Therefore this stanza shows following obstacles faced by a leader to become a man in the
aggresive world:
— worry and fear (“risk...and lose and start again”)
— being self-serving (“never breathe a word” about loss)

— quitting (“hold on when there is nothing in you)
The final stanza speaks of you being able to work with anyone and not change who you are
or what you stand for. This poems says that if you can avoid all of these things, the world is
yours and you can be truly called a Man. “Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and-
which is more-you’ll be a Man my son!”.Thus finally , obstacles which have to be removed for
the survival in this pathetic world :

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