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THE LANGUAGE ARTS MAGAZINE

Poetry: “If” • Skill: Reading Comprehension, page 1 of 2

Understanding “If”
Directions: Below is an excerpt of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If,” which appears on page 9 in this issue of Scope.
At the bottom of the page, we have provided definitions of the words that appear in bold. Use the poem to help

Uses: Copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants subscribers of Scholastic Scope permission to reproduce this page for use in their classrooms. Copyright © 2011 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
you answer the multiple-choice and critical-thinking questions on the next page.

If
By Rudyard Kipling
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
3 If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
5 If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
7 Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
9 If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
11 And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss;
13 If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
15 And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
17 If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
19 If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
21 If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
23 Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son.

GLOSSARY
impostors (im-POS-ters) noun; people who pretend to be someone else, in order to deceive; fakes

knaves (nayvs) plural noun; untrustworthy or dishonest people; rascals

pitch-and-toss: an old-fashioned coin game where players line up and take turns tossing coins toward a wall. The winner
is the person whose coin lands closest to the wall, and that person gets to keep everyone else’s coins.

sinew (SIN-yoo) noun; a tendon—a strong band of tissue that connects a muscle with a bone; sinew can also mean strength.

virtue (VUR-choo) noun; moral excellence, or behavior that agrees with what is morally right; goodness

foes (fohs) noun; enemies

Scholastic sCOPE ACTIVITY • September 5, 2011 Continued on Next page >
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Poetry: “If” • Skill: Reading Comprehension, page 2 of 2

1. Who is the speaker in this poem, and to whom is he 4. I n which lines does the speaker describe taking great
or she speaking? risks and starting over without complaining if you fail?
A A husband is speaking to his wife. A lines 5-6: “If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve
B A father is speaking to his son. spoken/Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,”

C A poet is speaking to nature. B lines 9-12: “If you can make one heap of all your
winnings/And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,/
D A son is speaking to his father.
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,/And

Uses: Copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants subscribers of Scholastic Scope permission to reproduce this page for use in their classrooms. Copyright © 2011 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
never breathe a word about your loss;”
2. T
 he speaker lists challenging actions, introducing
each one with the phrase “If you can . . . .” Which lines C lines 15-16: “And so hold on when there is nothing in
state what will happen if the listener completes these you/Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ ”
actions? D lines 17-18: “If you can talk with crowds and keep
A lines 3-4: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/ your virtue,/Or walk with Kings—nor lose the
And treat those two impostors just the same;” common touch,”

B lines 11-12: “And lose, and start again at your

5. C
 onsider lines 17-20: “If you can talk with crowds
beginnings,/And never breathe a word about
and keep your virtue,/Or walk with Kings—nor lose
your loss;”
the common touch,/If neither foes nor loving friends
C lines 15-16: “And so hold on when there is nothing in can hurt you,/If all men count with you, but none too
you/Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ ” much;”. The advice in these lines is:
D lines 23-24: “Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in A consider other people’s points of view, but stay true
it,/And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son.” to yourself.
B completely ignore what other people say.
3. What does Kipling personify in lines 3-4, when he
writes, “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And C judge yourself by what others say about you.
treat those two impostors just the same”? Dtry hard to get along with others, even if it means
A triumph C two impostors doing something you think is wrong.

B triumph and disaster D dreams

Critical-Thinking Questions
6. Imagine that you’ve just found out you won a writing contest. You’re pretty excited—you worked really hard on your
entry—and you tell your best friend about it. Another kid overhears you and spreads rumors that you were bragging about
how smart you are. That’s totally untrue, but soon some kids are calling you names and saying you think you’re better than
everyone else. Upset, you tell your dad you wish you’d never entered the contest in the first place. Your dad tells you that
you didn’t do anything wrong, and that you can’t let what others say take away from your pride in winning the contest.
Find two lines in the poem that relate to this situation and underline them. (Note: There is more than one correct
answer.) Explain why you chose those two lines. __________________________________________________________________
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7. During training, Navy SEALs must push themselves to their physical limits, continuing to work hard even when they
are completely exhausted. Find the section of the poem that describes forcing yourself to continue despite physical
exhaustion. Draw a circle around that section.
8. The speaker says you should “talk with crowds and keep your virtue,” meaning you should not let the people you hang out
with affect your morals or how you act. Do you think it requires courage to follow this advice? Explain.___________________
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Scholastic sCOPE ACTIVITY • September 5, 2011