If
Introduction:
The poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling was written in 1895 and first
appeared in Kipling’s book ‘Rewards and Fairies’. It provides a
perfect example of Stoicism.
The poem is an example of Victorian Stoicism. The meaning of
stoicism is uncomplaining endurance. Victorian era –19th century
Britain- Males denied any kind of emotions; defied the pain of loss
with minimal gestures. It was believed, the pursuit of self-mastery,
perseverance, and wisdom are the ways to live a great life. The
qualities such as self-discipline, self-knowledge, self-respect, and
self-confidence characterized the male in Victorian society.
As you see from the poem, it is advice on keeping calm in the face of
adversarial challenges, knowing that you are in control of your own
emotions. You are in control of how you react to the environments
you are put into.
It tells us to remember that there are things that happen in life that
are outside your control, meaning you cannot change them. What
you can do, however, is change how you react to them. Like there is
nothing you can do about your situation, whether it be in love,
finance, or career, remember that you have control over yourself and
how you react to the problems at hand. No one can take that from
you.
The overall tone of the poem is somewhat inspirational. It’s a
father’s advice to his son. Father (Rudyard Kipling) is speaking to his
son and giving him the most valuable life lesson on how to become a
complete man.
The poem is a blueprint for personal integrity, rightful behavior, and
self-development. It is both didactic and serious; not dry and preachy
but highly motivational.
The overarching theme of the poem is successful virtuous living
based on values pertaining to integrity, rightful behavior, and self-
development.
The poem speaks to each and every reader about what it means to
become a complete man and how he operates through thick and
thin.
About the Poet:
Rudyard Kipling was one of the best-known late Victorian poets and
storytellers. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907
but was critically unpopular due to his political views, which only
grew more toxic as he aged.
He was born in Bombay, India in 1865. His father was the Principal of
a particular School of Art as well as an architect and artist.
Kipling was sent with his sister to England in 1871 and began his
schooling there. They lived with a foster family named Holloways.
These were miserable years for Kipling. Mrs. Holloway was a brutal
woman. She beat and bullied Kipling, who also struggled to fit in at
school. In addition to feelings of bewilderment and abandonment
from being deserted by his parents, Kipling had to suffer bullying by
the woman of the house and her son resulting in a nervous
breakdown. He was sent off to another school in a different place in
1878. Here, things got better.
In 1882, he left for India to rejoin his family and begin a career as a
journalist. He left home for England in 1889 to pursue his future as a
writer. Kipling’s sudden rise to fame drew many people’s attention;
one among them was a young American publisher who became
friends with Kipling. Kipling married the publisher’s sister, Caroline in
1892. Then, Kipling proceeded to live in America. He stayed here for
several years. He wrote “The Jungle Book” during this stay. Kipling
died early in 1946 to a painful illness.
The Structure of the Poem:
The poem has 32 lines in total. It has been divided into four stanzas
of equal length, all of which contain eight lines with a regular meter
and rhythm. Each stanza has a rhyme scheme of ababcdcd, with the
exception of the first stanza which has the rhyme scheme aaaabcbc.
One line with an extra syllable is followed by a line with no extra
syllable. Each line can be divided into five feet with one unstressed
and stressed syllable. This gives the poem a sense of cohesion and
order, which is very much in keeping with the poem's central idea,
which advocates an ordered and controlled lifestyle.
There is an alternating rhyme scheme. Each thought is continued into
the next line. There are hyphens used throughout the poem that
create pauses. There is only one complete stop in the poem, the
exclamation mark at the end. This structure suggests that the poem
is an ongoing thought. Becoming a man is an ongoing process that is
difficult and challenging.
The title and the repetition of the word ‘if’ throughout the poem
means ‘uncertainty’. ‘If you’ phrase is used throughout the poem; ‘if’
stresses the possibility of finding oneself in that situation, while ‘you’
emphasizes owning up and taking responsibility.
The poem develops through a series of suggestions using opposites
to clarify the message. The advice is presented in a series of
statements each beginning with the conditional word ‘if’; each
statement contains a pair of opposites which build up into a strong
guide as to how the father feels life should be lived.
By beginning each piece of advice with the word ‘if’ Kipling uses the
first part of the conditional tense construction. The second part
comes at the end of stanza 4 (in ‘yours is...’ and ‘you’ll…’).
In both constructions, there is the sense that ‘if you do this, then that
will happen’.
The sentences mentioned are hypothetical and general, the
attributes are ones to strive for, not ones that can be achieved
overnight.
The fact that the poem is one long conditional sentence indicates
that it will take a long time and considerable effort, for the son to
become a man in the sense that the father is speaking of.
