Rudyard Kipling
• Born on (1865-1936) in Bombay, • Educated in England at the United Services College, Westward Ho, Bideford. • In 1882 he returned to India, where he worked for Anglo-Indian newspapers. • His literary career began with Departmental Ditties (1886), • Subsequently he became chiefly known as a writer of short stories. • A prolific writer, he achieved fame quickly. • Kipling was the poet of the British Empire and its yeoman, the common soldier, whom he glorified in many of his works Plain Tales from the Hills (1888) Soldiers Three (1888), Collections of short stories with
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His other worksBarrack Room Ballads (1892) Jungle Book Kim (1901) The Second Jungle Book (1895), The Seven Seas (1896) Captains Courageous (1897) The Day's Work (1898), Just So Stories (1902) Trafficks and Discoveries (1904) Puck of Pook's Hill (1906) Actions and Reactions (1909) Debits and Credits (1926), Thy Servant a Dog (1930) Kipling was the recipient of many honorary degrees and other awards. In 1926 he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Literature Rudyard Kipling died on January 18, 1936.
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 imposters 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
If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitchand-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath 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
If IF
Stanza 1 • To be calm when others are accusing you in aggressive mood. • The first stanza of “If” illustrates the practice of selfconfidence and expresses that, in being confident, the reader must have the courage to face unpopularity and disagreement. • Avoid lies even if others deal in it • Even if hated Keep loving • Be Humble but don’t pretend to be too wise
Stanza 1…… • Advises against selfconfidence that does not allow for the consideration of opposing ideas. • The first stanza touches on several character traits: self-confidence, courage, patience and honesty. His words "If you can keep your head," "If you can trust yourself," and "If you can wait and not be tired by waiting" show those traits.
Stanza 2 • Have Dreams – no overpowering • Think but not too much • Triumphs and disasters should be treated alike • Hold truth when trapped by cunning people • No hopelessness • When dreams break start again
Stanza 2…….. • The second stanza deals with what you may do for the public, yet not have personal reasons or gain behind it. • You can face trouble as easily as you face success, and you can take something that broke-even though you worked so hard for it-you can rebuild it all over again. • That shows a hard work ethic.
Stanza 3 • Be adventurous • Risk for a worthwhile adventure • Courage- if lose start again (no talk of loss) • Mental and physical energy-deprived • Hold on to your will power
Stanza 3 • The third stanza speaks of taking everything you've worked for and risk it all, and then lose it and have to start again. • The key to that is not telling anyone of your loss. • That shows integrity. • That's in the line "And lose, and start again at your beginnings and never breath a word about your loss." • Then it says you must take all you have within you, and when you are at your lowest point, you still have to have the will
Stanza 4 • Interact with common rustics without losing virtues • Keep your sanity and cool even when you walk with the kings • Not to affected by foes and friends • Neither undue advantage nor ignore anyone • Each minute worth living
Stanza 4 • The final stanza speaks of you being able to work with anyone and not change who you are or what you stand for. • This poems says that if you can do all of these things, the world is yours and you can be truly called a Man. "Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, and-which is more-you'll be a Man my son!"
Rudyard Kipling’s “If” is perhaps his most famous poem. Kipling composed the poem in 1909 while living in Great Britain. It was first published in 1910 in Kipling’s collection of children’s stories, “If” attracted immediate nationwide attention in Britain, and it was quickly adopted as a popular anthem. Twenty-seven Nations of the Earth translated them into their seven-andtwenty tongues, and printed them on every sort of fabric.
“If” is a didactic (educative) poem, a work meant to give instruction. In this case, “If” serves as an instruction in several specific traits of a good leader. Kipling offers this instruction not through listing specific characteristics, but by providing concrete illustrations of the complex actions a man should or should not take which would reflect these characteristics. In modern times, “If” remains widely anthologized and is regarded as a popular classic of English literature, not necessarily for a display of artistry but for its familiarity and inspiration.
The poem 'If' is inspirational, motivational, and a set of rules for 'grown-up' living. Kipling's 'If' contains mottos and maxims for life, and the poem is also a blueprint for personal integrity, behaviour and selfdevelopment. 'If' is perhaps even more relevant today than when Kipling wrote it, as an ethos and a personal philosophy. Lines from Kipling's 'If' appear over the player's entrance to Wimbledon's Centre Court - a poignant reflection of the poem's timeless and inspiring quality.
It's about developing the proper attitudes about things. It's about keeping your eyes on the goal and not being distracted by unimportant things. It's about courage and self-control, and what you might call 'maturity'--acting like a grown-up and seeing the real value of things. You can see this by looking at the bottom. If . . . (all these things) . . then the world is yours, and what's more you'll be a man, my son.
Theme: Brings home the point that we must imbibe in us the qualities of self-confidence, self- respect, courage, truthfulness, humility, objectivity, hopefulness To be men in the true sense and to be the master of this earth we should imbibe these qualities The conditional clauses used in the poem makes it clear that it is not easy to imbibe these qualities