"If" by Rudyard Kipling - Analysis
This poem was written by Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), an English poet, novelist, and short story writer. He was born in Bombay, India, but spent much of his life in England and America. Kipling later became a journalist, travelling back to India and to South America. His awards include the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Literature. Interestingly, he refused to become the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom in 1895, and he also refused the Order of Merit. This humility reflects the message contained in If. Also, Kipling’s poetry is often about soldiers and war. This is similar in If, which was written as a tribute to the military actions of Leander Starr Jameson.
If was written in 1895, and first published in 1910 in the book Rewards and Fairies. I first read If in a running magazine, about a year ago, and was reminded of it when reading Kipling’s condensed biography on http://www.poetryoutloud.org, a reliable source. While this specific poem was not on the website, it is well-known, and it was simple to find a copy.
I chose this poem because of the moral lessons and advice in it. Although it briefly addresses running in lines 29-30 with, If you can fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,” conveying tenacity, determination, and respect, this poem is less about literal running than the other selected poems. In fact, these two lines are more of a metaphor for one’s limited time on Earth. This poem appealed to me for the growth and maturity found in it, and how this could apply to an athlete. This is the philosophy shared by Joe Vigil, a well-known running coach. He believes that improving his athlete’s personal lives improves their performance. For instance, the following quote demonstrates the beliefs shared by Joe Vigil and Rudyard Kipling in If:
“There are two goddesses in your heard. The Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth. Everyone thinks they need to get wealth first, and wisdom will come. So they concern themselves with chasing money. But they have it backwards. You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, giver her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you.” - Joe Vigil
If is a didactic poem, meant to teach. Kipling meant for it to instruct his only sun, Lieutenant John Kipling. If takes the form of four stanzas. The rhyming pattern is abab cdcd and so on. This simplicity makes the poem effective because it addresses creating a balanced, simple life. If is written in iambic pentameter.
Kipling uses literary devices to make this piece effective. Using the theme of overcoming diversity and being stoic through self-improvement, a repetition of the words “you” and “if” stresses this. Personification is also present, such as the lines in stanza two that say, “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat these two impostors just the same.” (lines 11-12) This can also be seen in “If you can dream - and not make dreams your master” (line 9). Comparisons using metaphors are used to make If effective as well. In the final stanza, Kipling addresses running, a very specific activity that contrasts oddly with the rest of the poem, which is full of general advice. These lines, however, can be interpreted metaphorically, in that people have a finite amount of time of Earth, so they should use it well. Kipling uses “If you can fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,” to say Carpe diem.
If was written in 1895, and first published in 1910 in the book Rewards and Fairies. I first read If in a running magazine, about a year ago, and was reminded of it when reading Kipling’s condensed biography on http://www.poetryoutloud.org, a reliable source. While this specific poem was not on the website, it is well-known, and it was simple to find a copy.
I chose this poem because of the moral lessons and advice in it. Although it briefly addresses running in lines 29-30 with, If you can fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,” conveying tenacity, determination, and respect, this poem is less about literal running than the other selected poems. In fact, these two lines are more of a metaphor for one’s limited time on Earth. This poem appealed to me for the growth and maturity found in it, and how this could apply to an athlete. This is the philosophy shared by Joe Vigil, a well-known running coach. He believes that improving his athlete’s personal lives improves their performance. For instance, the following quote demonstrates the beliefs shared by Joe Vigil and Rudyard Kipling in If:
“There are two goddesses in your heard. The Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth. Everyone thinks they need to get wealth first, and wisdom will come. So they concern themselves with chasing money. But they have it backwards. You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, giver her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you.” - Joe Vigil
If is a didactic poem, meant to teach. Kipling meant for it to instruct his only sun, Lieutenant John Kipling. If takes the form of four stanzas. The rhyming pattern is abab cdcd and so on. This simplicity makes the poem effective because it addresses creating a balanced, simple life. If is written in iambic pentameter.
Kipling uses literary devices to make this piece effective. Using the theme of overcoming diversity and being stoic through self-improvement, a repetition of the words “you” and “if” stresses this. Personification is also present, such as the lines in stanza two that say, “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat these two impostors just the same.” (lines 11-12) This can also be seen in “If you can dream - and not make dreams your master” (line 9). Comparisons using metaphors are used to make If effective as well. In the final stanza, Kipling addresses running, a very specific activity that contrasts oddly with the rest of the poem, which is full of general advice. These lines, however, can be interpreted metaphorically, in that people have a finite amount of time of Earth, so they should use it well. Kipling uses “If you can fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,” to say Carpe diem.