Page 106 - DENG104_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_I

Unit 9: “If” by Rudyard Kipling

believe in ourselves and know that we did it once so we can do it again! This is a very Notes
important lesson, and one that we all should take to heart. Kipling knew how hard life can
sometimes be, and I think this section of the poem is full of hope for all of us.
The last section has two important lessons. First, that we are all equal. Don’t put yourself
above anyone else, but know that you are just as good as everyone else. There are things to
be admired in almost everyone if you look hard enough. The second lesson I take from this
section, is to never waste time. Make every minute of every day count!
These are certainly lofty standards, but one’s that we should try our best to attain. Read the
poem, and really pay attention to what it’s saying. See whether you are doing all of the
positive things he describes. If not, work on it. I believe this poem is a road map to life, and
we just have to learn to read the signs.

9.4 Poetic Devices in the Poem

The three most common poetic devices that are presented in this poem are repetition, personification,
and alliteration. Repetition is the repeated use of a word or phrase for a certain effect. In this
poem, Kipling uses repetition with the word “you” throughout the entire poem to emphasize
how important “you” is.
Personification is when a non human thing is given human qualities; there are three examples
of personification here. The first is in Stanza 2, when he states,
”…make dreams your master…” (line 9)
The second example of personification also occurs in Stanza 2 when Kipling says,
”If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.”
(lines 11—12)
The final example of personification is in Stanza 3, when Kipling states,
”If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone”
(lines 21—22)
Finally, alliteration is the repetition of the consonant sound at the beginning of consecutive
words. There are at least two examples of this. The first occurs in stanza 2:
”with wornout tools” (line 16)
And the second example is from stanza 4 and says:
”sixty seconds” (line 30)
”If” is written in iambic pentameter, a form readers of Shakespeare will be familiar with, as
the bard most often wrote in this style. Iambic pentameter consists of lines of five “feet”
(two-syllable units) formed from an initial unstressed syllable and a second stressed syllable,
as in the word “because.” The eleven-syllable lines each end with an extra, unstressed syllable.
The poem is also written in four stanzas of eight rhyming lines, according to the pattern abab
cdcd. “If” takes its name from the repetition of the word “if” at the start of the “a” and “c”
lines, each of which comprise eleven syllables. The “b” and “d” lines each contain ten syllables.

9.5 Theme

The poem categorizes all the qualities that combine to make a man better than his fellow
being. The poem is idealistic in nature because it is rare for a person to possess qualities like
unlimited patience, tolerance and humanity when others hate you or misinterpret your words
for their selfish gains. A man who is successful is mastering all the qualities listed in the
poem, can call himself worthy of being a man. The poem is didactic in tone and content.

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