Pakistan International School Jeddah

Subject : English
Unit :6
Class : HSSC II
Page :81
 Unit : 6

IF
BY RUDYARD KIPLINGS
Theme :
Duty & Responsibility.

Objective / Outcome :
Enjoy reading the poem and trace out the message of
the poet.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the presentation, the students are
expected to:

1. Give a personal opinion and justify stance

related to viewpoints/ideas and issues in the
text read
2. recognize literary techniques such as
personification and alliteration
3. Analyze the general text and identify the main
theme
4. Analyze how a poet use figurative language
Rudyard Kipling is one of
the best-known of the late
Victorian poets and
story-tellers. Although he
was awarded the Nobel
Prize for literature in 1907,
his political views, which
grew more toxic as he
aged, have long made him
critically unpopular.
Summary
Central Idea
 Structure

Kipling separates his poem into four stanzas of equal

length; each stanza contains eight lines ( Octave ).

Each stanza has a set rhyme scheme of ababcdcd, with

the exception of the first stanza, which has the following
rhyme scheme: aaaabcbc.
 Stanza 1
If you can keep your 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 hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
 Explanation :Stanza 1

Stanza one talks about keeping one’s sanity in

the humdrum of human relationships It suggests
the importance of dealing with negative attitudes like
blaming,doubting,hating and lying and still remain
confident about the decisions you make and taking
responsibility for those decisions.
If others, who cannot take that responsibility for
themselves and react negatively, you will be patient
with them and not reduce yourself to their level by
telling lies or dealing in hate. However, don’t ever
think you are above anyone else.
 Stanza 2
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 impostors 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:
 Explanation :Stanza 2

Stanza two warns against obsession with one’s

dreams and thoughts ,successes and failures.The
poet states that it is good to dream, but don’t let your
dreams control your life. It is good to think, but don’t just
think and not put those thoughts into action. You will
experience triumph and disasters in your life, but don’t
take them seriously because they are not the substance of
life, they are the extremes. If you hear things you said
misused or things you have done destroyed, you need to
be able to pick yourself up and rebuild them with
everything that you have left in you.
 Stanza 3

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 word 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
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
 Explanation :Stanza 3

Stanza three is about bearing one’s loss bravely

and rising with the will power to rebuild when
there is nothing left . He counsels to take risks and
possibly lose everything. If you do lose everything,
don’t talk about it, just start all over again at the
beginning. When you are tired and exhausted and
your body just feels like it can’t continue on, use your
mind and your will to tell yourself to “Hold on” and
persevere. Push through it.
 Stanza 4

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor 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!
 Explanation :Stanza 4
Stanza four is about not losing touch with
oneself,whether in the company of kings or
laity,friends and foe.It deals with a person’s reaction to
others. You need to be able to talk to large groups of people
and yet not let them influence your belief in what is
right,wrong, moral, or immoral. You need to be able to walk
with men of power and influence and yet not forget the
common man and his needs. You need to know yourself and
your beliefs so well that neither your friends nor your enemies
can hurt you because you know who you are and what you
stand for. People can depend on you, but don’t let others
become too dependent on you. You need to live every single
minute of your life to the fullest. If you do these things, then
the world is yours, and you will be a good man.
THANK YOU