If
by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep you 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 hates, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk to wise;
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 imposters 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;
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 work 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
Expect the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes not 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!
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Poetry Analysis
To me, this poem has many meanings. First off, I think the narrator is a father figure to whom he is reading this poem too. All of the "If" statements give you scenarios in which you are faced with a challenge. For instance, lines 3 and 4, "If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too:", is saying to always believe in yourself, even if those around you are waiting for you to fail or mess up. There are always people who will forever be jealous of you or your family, and they will always be waiting you to fail. Don't, I repeat, don't give the haters that pleasure. It only makes you look bad, and they will talk about it.
Secondly, I think that this poem is telling you to always make the most of the time you have. In lines, 29-32, "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!", are saying to always make the most of yourself and your time. If you do this, you will be very successful at what you do, and you will make the most out of your life.
by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep you 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 hates, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk to wise;
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 imposters 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;
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 work 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
Expect the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes not 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!
------------------------------------------------
Poetry Analysis
To me, this poem has many meanings. First off, I think the narrator is a father figure to whom he is reading this poem too. All of the "If" statements give you scenarios in which you are faced with a challenge. For instance, lines 3 and 4, "If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too:", is saying to always believe in yourself, even if those around you are waiting for you to fail or mess up. There are always people who will forever be jealous of you or your family, and they will always be waiting you to fail. Don't, I repeat, don't give the haters that pleasure. It only makes you look bad, and they will talk about it.
Secondly, I think that this poem is telling you to always make the most of the time you have. In lines, 29-32, "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!", are saying to always make the most of yourself and your time. If you do this, you will be very successful at what you do, and you will make the most out of your life.