If by Rudyard Kipling (Detailed Summary

If

- Rudyard Kipling

Detailed Summary

Stanza1

“If” is a didactic poem which is written by Rudyard Kipling. In the first stanza, the poet says that even if people around you lose their temper, you must not lose your temper. Also, sometimes people blame you for a mistake they have committed. At that time also you should not lose your temper because when your mind is under your control, you can make wise decisions. Sometimes, people around you don’t believe in your abilities and talents, and don’t understand your dream. You must have the self-belief in your abilities and talents by which you can achieve your dream. Even if one believes in oneself, one should give a little importance to others' doubting too. This will help one to know what is right and wrong. Then the poet says that till one achieves one's dream or goal, one must work very hard. Also, one should wait patiently until one achieves one's dream or goal. Sometimes, people say lie about an individual to others. At that time, he/ she should not be disheartened. Also, he/she doesn’t want to spend time in proving his/ her innocence too. Then the poet says that sometimes people hate an individual for no reason. He/ she should not hate them back because nobody is a perfect human being. So one should show affection towards these haters. As the first stanza ends, the poet says that an individual should not always show his/ her virtuous side to others because people would always expect goodness from him/ her. Also, one should only show one’s intelligence in appropriate places.

Stanza 2

Everyone has the power to dream. But one should not try to pursue an idealistic dream in vain. One should always try to fulfill one's realistic dream. Even though one has thinking ability, one should not let one's thoughts to be one's "aim" because people often think too much. Then the poet says that one should treat "Triumph" and "Disaster" as same. Usually, when one achieves "Triumph", one becomes extremely happy and gets satisfaction. Likewise, when one faces a "Disaster", one will be in agony, and need lots of effort to overcome it. That is why the poet calls them as "impostors" because both of them cheat an individual. Sometimes people manipulate your words in order to mislead others. At that time, you should not feel disheartened. Sometimes whatever one has achieved or built in one's life will be lost in a fraction of seconds. By this, the poet implies that failure can come at any time in one's life. At that time, one should have optimism and work hard to rebuild what one has lost with one’s abilities and talents. That is, one should rise like a phoenix when one faces unexpected failure.

Stanza 3

Sometimes when people want to achieve a higher goal, they have to risk whatever they have achieved till now. By this, what the poet says is that one should have a risk-taking mentality. Sometimes it happens that while one is pursuing one’s higher goal, one will not achieve it at first. At that time, one should not feel distressed. Again one has to work from the beginning to achieve the higher goal. The poet tells the readers that one should not tell one’s loss or failure to others. He/ she has to learn from the failures and move forward. As the stanza ends, the poet says that sometimes one loses one’s mental and physical strength. At that time, one should force one’s mind and body to move forward and achieve one’s goal.

Stanza 4

In the last stanza, the poet says that one should keep in touch with all classes of people in a society. One should mingle with everyone. Often when an individual becomes friendly with others, he/ she tries to imbibe their good and bad qualities. But one should not lose one’s good qualities. Also, the poet says that even if one reaches a high position in life, one should not lose in touch with common people. With one’s personality and talent, one can influence others. But one should not let others rely on oneself. Next, the poet says that one should not let enemies or friends hurt one’s mind. By this, the poet implies that one should have mental strength, and should not too emotionally attach with others. As the fourth stanza ends, the poet says that one should utilize each and every second because no one can’t predict what will happen next. In the end, the poet says that if an individual tries to possess all these qualities, then he/ she can conquer the world, and will be a perfect human being. By using “my son” at the end of the last line, the readers feel that the poem is written in a letter format where a father is telling his son to follow all these qualities.

Important links to chapters in Unit 1

1. “His First Flight” by Liam O'Flaherty (English Summary)

https://shruthismohan.blogspot.com/2018/08/his-first-flight-liam-oflaherty.html