Read the “If” by
Rudyard Kipling. Then answer the questions.
If
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;
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;
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!"
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!
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;
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;
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!"
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!
Rudyard Kipling
- What
“two imposters” is Kipling referring to in line 11?
- All
men (l. 3)
- Kings
(l. 26)
- Triumph
and Disaster (l. 10)
- Winnings
and loss (l. 17 and 20)
- Foes
and friends (l. 27)
- What
does “sinew” address in line 21?
- Knowledge
- Friendships
- Doubts
- Virtue
- Strength
- Who is
the speaker of this poem?
- A
grandfather to his grandson
- A
father to a his son
- A
king to his nobleman
- An
old man to a young stranger
- A sage
to an ignorant adolescent
- What
is the tone of the poem?
- Pedantic
- Arrogant
- Solemn
- Didactic
- Haughty
- In
lines 25-26, what does Kipling say a leader must do?
- Not
allow others to offend you
- Stay
true to yourself, no matter who you converse with
- Dream
for change but don’t make it the only goal
- Learn from both victories and failures
- Not allow bad times to ruin the vision
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ReplyDeleteThis poem reminds me of the “Lessons in Manliness” by Benjamin Franklin. With the obvious connection with the end of the poem, stating that if all of these “ifs” are met, than a true man can be made. We read Franklin’s paper sophomore year, and it has made an impression much like this poem has to me. As you stated in class, the idea of molding into your own identity is definitely seen within this poem, however I think the deeper meaning comes with an analysis of the language used. Kipling continuously repeats “If” at the beginning of most of the lines in this poem. For me the point of this emphasis is to demonstrate the rigid task at hand with becoming this man. All of these “ifs” equate to a lifestyle that seems improbable. Much like Franklin finds in his experiment towards being virtuous, it is impossible to achieve all of these virtues, keeping all us humans in a state of imperfection.
ReplyDeleteThis poem stands out to me because of the amounting hurtles to clear before reaching an end destination – manhood. As I read through the poem, I tried to find the number of times “if” is repeated, the significance of that number, the pattern of placing “if” at the beginning of a line, I found that there is no definite pattern to Kipling’s writing, much like the path to manhood, it is unclear.