If—
| If— | |
|---|---|
| by Rudyard Kipling | |
.jpg) A 1910 edition of the poem IF—, by Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, New York. | |
| First published in | Rewards and Fairies |
| Publisher | Doubleday, Page & Company |
| Publication date | 1910 |
If— (1895) is a poem, by Rudyard Kipling, which was first published in Rewards and Fairies (1910), a book of historical fantasy stories; and, in the popular culture of the U.K., If— is a literary example of Victorian-era stoicism as a national character trait.[1]
In late nineteenth-century Britain, the poem was Kipling′s contemporary political tribute to the (failed) military efforts of the British imperialist politician Leander Starr Jameson in advancing British hegemony in South Africa. In the personal realm of the poet′s life, the poem If — was paternal advice to his son, John Kipling, in dealing with success and failure as equal features of life.[2]
Historical background
As literature, the poem ″If—″ was initially published in the ″Brother Square Toes″ chapter of the book Rewards and Fairies (1910), a collection of Kipling’s poetry, and short-story fiction in the historical fantasy genre.
As history, the poem ″If—″ celebrated the derring-do of the British military man. In the posthumous autobiography, Something of Myself (1937), Rudyard Kipling said that his poetic inspiration for ″If—″ derived from the Jameson Raid (29 Dec. 1895 – 2 Jan. 1896), which was the failed mercenary military action, led by Leander Starr Jameson, by which the businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Alfred Beit meant to overthrow the Boer Government of Paul Kruger (1883–1902) in the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic).
The failure of that private-enterprise coup d’état, to depose the Boers and impose the British in South Africa, aggravated the political tensions that then existed between Great Britain and the Transvaal Republic of the Boers. In consequence, the Jameson Raid led to the Second Boer War (11 Oct. 1899 – 31 May 1902), fought between and among the British Empire and the Afrikaaner Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, which, in 1910, ended in with the annexation of each country to the Union of South Africa (1910–61), a dominion of the British Empire.[3][4]
The Poem
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! [5]
Reception
As an evocation of Victorian-era stoicism, the “stiff upper lip” self-discipline, which popular culture rendered into a British national virtue and character trait, the poem "If—" remains a valid cultural currency.[6] The British cultural-artefact status of the poem is evidenced by the parodies of the poem, and by its popularity among Britons.[7][8]
In India, a framed copy of the poem "If—" was affixed to the wall before the study desk in the cabins of the officer cadets at the National Defence Academy, at Pune. In Britain, the third and fourth lines of the second stanza of the poem:
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / and treat those two impostors just the same
are written on the wall of the players’ entrance to the Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where the Wimbledon Championships are held.[2]
Influence
In Anglophone popular culture, in the album Shine (2007), the Canadian singer Joni Mitchell published the song If, which was inspired by Rudyard Kipling′s eponymous poem.
See also
- Desiderata (1927), by Max Ehrmann
- Invictus (1888), by William Ernest Henley
- ″The Man in the Arena″ quotation in the Citizenship in a Republic (1910) speech by Theodore Roosevelt
References
- ^ Osborne, Kristen (28 April 2013). McKeever, Christine (ed.). "Rudyard Kipling: Poems Study Guide: Summary and Analysis of ″If—″". GradeSaver. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ a b Wansell, Geoffrey (20 February 2009). "The remarkable story behind Rudyard Kipling's 'If' — and the swashbuckling renegade who inspired it". Mail Online. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ "The New Britannica Encyclopædia", 15th Edition, volume 6, pp. 489–90.
- ^ Halsall, Paul (July 1998). "Rudyard Kipling: If". Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Fordham University. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "If— by Rudyard Kipling". Poems & Poets. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ "Spartans and Stoics — Stiff Upper Lip". ICONS of England. Culture24. Retrieved 20 February 2011.[dead link]
- ^ Jones, Emma (2004). The Literary Companion. Robson. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-86105-798-3.
- ^ Robinson, Mike (2002). Literature and Tourism. The Thomson Corporation. p. 61. ISBN 1-84480-074-1.
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External links
Works related to If— at Wikisource- Reading of "If—" on Wikicommons
- Free human-read audio recordings of "If—"
- Authentic digital editions archive of "If—"
