(1865-1936)
Born in Bombay, India, but gained
most of his education in England
Returned to India to work for a
newspaper as a journalist
Became chiefly known for his short
stories
Achieved fame quickly
Kipling married Caroline Starr
Balestier
Very popular with common readers
“Prophet of British imperialism.“
Nobel Prize in Literature
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;
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
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;
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
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!"
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
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!
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
YOUTUBE CLIP
Didactic Poem – instructs the reader
Iambic Pentameter – each line has five
feet, with one unstressed and one
stressed syllable
1
2
3
4
5
If YOU | can KEEP | your HEAD | when ALL | aBOUT | you
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
STAY FOCUSED, POISED,
USE SELF CONTROL
EVEN IF OTHERS AROUND
YOU SEEM TO BE LOSING IT
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;
TRUST YOUR INTUITIONS
BUT DON’T IGNORE OTHERS
HAVE PATIENCE AND RISE
ABOVE RUMORS AND LIES
DON’T LET HATE GET TO
YOU, RISE ABOVE BUT STAY
HUMBLE
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:.
DREAMS ARE
IMPORTANT, BUT
MAKE SURE NOT TO
LOSE SIGHT OF
REALITY
DON’T BE CHANGED BY VICTORY
OR FAILURE, THEY AREN’T
ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
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;
YOUR WORDS MAY BE
TWISTED, BUT STRENGHT LIES
IN GETTING PAST THE TRAPS
DON’T BE DISHEARTENED
BY UNEXPECTED FAILURE,
JUST STAND TALL AND FIX
WHAT
YOU CAN
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!"
DON’T BE TOO CAREFUL
EITHER, TAKE CHANCES
IF YOU DON’T SUCCEED, TRY
AGAIN WITHOUT BEING
DISCOURAGED OR FEELING
SORRY FOR YOURSELF
DON’T GIVE UP, PUSH
THROUGH DESPITE THE
DIFFICULTIES YOU MAY FACE
GIVE IT ALL YOU’VE GOT,
FIGHT TILL THE END
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!
STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF,
DON’T FORGET WHO YOU
ARE
DON’T GIVE ANYONE THE
POWER TO HURT YOU, AND
ALWAYS BE DEPENDABLE
MAKE YOUR ACTIONS AND
YOUR WORDS MEANINGFUL,
POWERFUL
ONCE YOU CAN DO THESE
THINGS, THE WORLD IS
YOURS, YOU HAVE THE
POTENTIAL, THESE ARE
THE THINGS THAT MAKE A
MAN
Speaker?
A father addressing his son
Subject?
Being the best person you can be
Tone?
Informative and didactic
Mood?
Philosophic and reflective
Repetition: “If” is repeated to illustrate each
action that should or should not be done
to achieve manhood in the speaker’s eyes
Paradox: throughout the poem, Kipling
combine’s seemingly contradicting ideas
which ultimately balance each other and
express a truth
( 1st stanza, lines 3 & 4 )
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too
The theme of the poem is manhood and
leadership.
The poem offers a lesson in the
characteristics necessary to excel as a
model of integrity and leadership.