POETRY 1 IF BY RUDYARD KIPLING

 

 

POETRY:  IF by RUDYARD KIPLING

 

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

*INTRODUCTION

*DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE

*TO PURSUE ONE’S GOALS IN LIFE

*NEVER GIVE UP ATTITUDE

*IDEAL APPROACH IN LIFE

*CONCLUSION

 

INTRODUCTION: Rudyard Kipling is an eminent poet, novelist and short story writer. ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Kim’ are some of his well-known works ‘If’ is a didactic poem that gives instructions on how to become an ideal man. Each of the four stanzas deals with different life situations and tells the best way to handle them. It was written in 1895 and first published in ‘Rewards and Fairies’ in 1910. The poem is written in the form of a father’s advice to his son. The poet wanted to show his son the right way to be a future leader.

DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE: In Stanza one, Kipling tells that we should be confident about the decisions we make by taking responsibility for them. If we need to be a good human being and succeed in life, we should learn to keep calm when other people around us are losing their cool. We should learn not to lose our temper even if others are blaming us for their faults. One can think wisely and face tough situations and come up with solutions by staying calm and collected. During times of crisis, we should have the courage to take responsibilities for our actions that have produced the undesired results.

The poet asks us to develop enough confidence to believe in oneself and our potential even if the others have given up on us. But at the same time, we should give some importance to their doubts too. However, the poet warns us against getting over-confident as it will stop us from listening to the valuable suggestions of others.

All monumental things take time and it is essential to have patience. We must not get tired of waiting for our plans to achieve success. We have numerous real life examples where people missed big opportunities only because they lost their patience. Moreover, we should not indulge in lies though others may do so. We should continue to remain truthful. Though people may hate us, we should not hate them. On the contrary we should show our love and respect towards them. It is better to look for the positive things in people. The poet says we should avoid showing off to impress others or people will avoid us.

TO PURSUE ONE’S GOALS IN LIFE: Stanza Two states that in order to pursue one’s goals in life, we should learn the difference between being ambitious and being power-crazy. We must not get over ambitious. If we aim to achieve something big in life, we need to dream. But we should not let dreams remove us from reality. We should be able to think over things but merely thinking should not be our aim. We should also stay focused and make our thoughts real.  

Life is a combination of success and failure, joy and sorrow, good times and bad times. We should be brave and learn to treat both equally. Success and Failure are a part and parcel of life and not permanent. The poet calls them impostors or pretenders since both success and failure have a disguise of permanence which makes a person feel either too optimistic or broken down. We should treat both success and failure in the same way and not let them get to our head.  Very often people become too happy with success and forget their duty. If we are ready to accept these small victories and be satisfied with the little successes that may come our way, we can never reach great heights.

If we are very unhappy over our misfortunes, we may lose faith and confidence both in ourselves and others. Again, at bad times, if we are too grieved, we may lose our faith and confidence.

The road to attaining one’s goals is never an easy one and is filled with hurdles. Very often we see people twist our words and use it to suit them. Instead of losing our temper at such things, we need to be more patient and tolerant towards them while continuing to speak the truth.

On our path to success we might have to encounter failures which might wipe away everything that we have achieved. When our efforts are wasted and we are left to pick up the pieces, we need to be patient and tough mentally so we can build something good, anew.

NEVER GIVE UP ATTITUDE:In the third stanza, the poet gives an important life’s advice of never giving up in life. Life is unpredictable and filled with ups and downs. The poet asks us not to keep away from challenges just because we are scared that we might lose what we already have.

We should be brave enough to take everything we have gained and risk it on a game of pitch- and –toss.  Though we may lose everything we own, we have to stay calm and rebuild it from the beginning. Here the poet talks about the capability of taking big risks to achieve much greater success and keeping quiet even if we lose the bet. Willpower is the only key to persistence in spite of loss. If a man is determined to do something great, the Willpower would prevent the body from getting tired.

IDEAL APPROACH IN LIFE:  In the final stanza, the poet discusses the ideal approach in life after success has been attained.A great man is someone who fit into all sections of the society effortlessly. We should be able to talk to the common people without losing our individuality and moral values. We should also be able to walk with kings without going beyond the reach of the common people. The common touch would help us realize the reality and feel the needs of the society. On the other hand, the noble touch would give us the power and opportunity to reach higher goals.

By building ourselves very strong mentally and physically, we can ensure that neither enemies nor loving friends can hurt us. We should also develop a healthy relationship with everyone around us, and should not allow anyone to harm us.

The poet ends the poem with the parting advice that one must become the master of one’s own Time by ensuring maximum productivity even in the smallest unit of Time. A minute is filled with sixty seconds. Time is unforgiving to anyone who wastes it. We should spend every minute of our life usefully. We cannot afford to waste time as life is short and precious.

Finally, the poet assumes a fatherly attitude and tells that if all the conditions mentioned so far were fulfilled, we could definitely own the world and rule over everything. Wecould attain the full stature of manhood and become perfect human beings.

 CONCLUSION:   The poem ‘If’ infuses our minds with motivation and inspiration. It has universal and timeless appeal. It has inspired many men in their journey of life on earth.