9. ‘If—’ — Rudyard Kipling
Summary:
The poem offers advice on how to navigate life’s challenges with resilience, patience, and humility. If a person can balance opposing forces (success and failure, dreams and reality), they will achieve maturity and mastery of themselves — becoming a “Man.”
Analysis:
- The poem sets up an ideal of stoic endurance and self-discipline.
- It emphasizes personal responsibility, emotional control, and integrity.
- Kipling constructs a roadmap to moral adulthood, especially targeted toward his son (but applicable universally).
- The repetition of “If” creates a conditional build-up that leads to triumph.
Key Techniques:
- Didactic tone: the poem teaches moral lessons.
- Consistent rhyme scheme (ABAB) gives a feeling of order and discipline.
- Personification (“Triumph and Disaster”) makes abstract concepts relatable.
- Antithesis (“meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same”) highlights emotional balance.