Critical Appreciation of If

intro

This is, without a doubt, Kipling's( India-born British Nobel

laureate poet.)most beloved poem, and, along with "The White Man's
Burden", his most famous. Although T.S. Eliot would deem it only "great
verse" and others "jingoistic nonsense," it is consistently ranked among
the highest, if not the highest itself, of Britons' favorite poems.While
the poem is addressed to Kipling's son John, it was inspired by a great
friend of his, Leander Starr Jameson, the Scots-born colonial politician
and adventurer

Not only is it the title of the poem, but through his use of repetition,
Kipling emphasizes the word throughout the entirety of his work

theme
The poem “If” is a paean to British masculine rectitude and stoicism.
For the theme, as already told, the poem basically tells us the
conditions that we should meet to succeed in life and make this life
happy and a beautiful one. The whole poem is written in a single
complex sentence. So all the subordinate clauses begin with ‘if’ and the
main clause concluding the entire theme comes at the end, and the
poem ends with a full stop.

The poem is structured in such a way that almost every line of every
stanza of the poem starts with the word 'If'. The poet is addressing his
son in the poem, shedding light on his beliefs and conveying those to his
son. Kipling separates his poem into four stanzas of equal length;
This structure of the poem was important to achieve the conditional
goal. The poet speaks of the achievement at the end, after discussing all
the requirements to reach there. This structure is actually symbolic in
suggesting that you can get the rewards only after you have fulfilled the
preconditions. Moreover, this makes the readers eager to know what
would happen when we meet all these conditions, thus retaining the
curiosity and interest till the end.
each stanza contains eight lines. Each stanza has a set rhyme scheme of
, with the exception of the first stanza, which has the following rhyme
scheme. In terms of meter, the poem is written in iambic pentameter,
with five feet consisting of a stressed and then an unstressed syllable.

"If-" contains a multitude of characteristics deemed essential to the

ideal man. They almost all express stoicism and reserve – the classic
British "stiff upper lip." In particular, a man must be humble, patient,
rational, truthful, dependable, and persevering.

The language of the poem is fluid, yet intricate wherever necessary.

Over all, one can say that the language is moderately ornate without
running into the danger of being indiscernible. Kipling does not assume
a commonplace style while penning the poem. Instead, the style is lofty
along with being inspiring. The inspiring quality of the poem owes itself
to the language and the style which are out of the ordinary without
making the poem too difficult to understand.

The style and the language are simple because the poet clearly wanted
to reach out to all sections of the society, irrespective of social stature
or age.
n his inspiring poem, "If," Rudyard Kipling makes use of many rhetorical
devices among which are anaphora, anastrophe, antithesis,
assonance,climax, hendiadys, hyperbole, metaphor,personification,and
syllepsis.

1. Anaphora - The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of

successive phrases, clauses, or lines. (This is been thoroughly covered
by the previous poster)

2. Anastrophe - Transposition of normal word order

"Yours is the Earth...."

3. Antithesis - Opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced

or parallel construction. There are numerous examples of this

"If all men count with you, but none too much"

4. Assonance - The repetition of the same sound in words close to each

other.

"And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise"

5. Climax - Arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of

ascending power. Often the last emphatic word in one phrase or clause
is repeated as the first emphatic word of the next.

The last stanza exemplifies this term. The poem is very moving because
of this build-up.

6. Hendiadys - Use of two words connected by a conjunction, instead

of suordinating one to the other, to express a single complex idea.
There are numerous examples of this term, as well. Here is one: "Or
walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch"

7. Hyperbole - Exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,/'Or walk with Kings-
nor lose the common touch"

8. Metaphor - Implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of

words

"Twisted by knaves (metaphor for people of low character) to make a

trap for fools"

9. Personification - Attribution of personality to an impersonal thing

"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster"

10. Syllepsis - The use of a word with two others, each of which is
understood differently.

"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master"
The tone of the poem is didactic. This means that it sets out to teach, to
instruct. The speaker is a father advising his son how to live his life, but
the lesson can apply to any reader, and indeed the poem continues to
find much favour with audiences; undoubtedly it is Kipling’s best known
and best loved poem.

The tone of the poem might also be called hortatory, meaning that it
urges and encourages...

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