One of the most beloved poems written in the nineteenth century is the inspirational piece, “If” by Rudyard Kipling. It invades the reader’s consciousness in ways that other poems can not duplicate. The ever-lasting idea of the passing on of knowledge and wisdom from one to another is easily noticed and appreciated by readers who are familiar with the ups and downs of parenting, as well as young adults who may be facing some of life’s challenges that are written in the poem. “If” by Rudyard Kipling is touching in its sincerity and is full of humility and warmth which can be appreciated by any reader because they can relate to it.
The importance of self-confidence is greatly stressed in the first four lines of the poem. In the opening stanza of Kipling’s poem, it appears to the reader that the message is being spoken directly to them from an experienced individual:
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, (lines 1-4)
A realistic situation of self-worth found in a person facing the choice to turn from bitterness in the face of another’s wrath, is hard to fathom. The feeling of individuality is full fledged on the reader’s mind and heart after interpreting the words in the first four lines. The continued use of you or your is used several times and has the growing affect of jumping off the page and speaking personally to the reader. There is a direct point about forgiveness in the last line bent on pardoning your foes, and gives a better understanding of how the real world works. It goes against all of human nature to forgive an enemy of a wrong-doing, but Kipling expresses that to make allowan...
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...e poem is not being directed toward them, but to a child. This adds the element of modesty to the poem and readers subconsciously care for this young character and hope he heeds his father’s advice and excels under such direction.
The poem consists of truth and knowledge within the motivational words that enter the core of a reader, broadening integrity and the reader’s outlook on life. “If” inspires readers to strive for that reward mentioned at the end, inheriting all that the world has to offer, and becoming a respectable man or woman. Honest wisdom is gently spoken and the ideas of tenderness and faith which are hidden in the lines of the poem are truly commendable. The benevolence that Kipling touched on throughout the entire poem stirs thoughts within the reader, that a higher nature of unselfishness and not taking every day life for granted can be achieved.
This poem shines importance on going through thing s and how you have to start some place. I found this book very inspirational and it has refreshed my perspective on life. My people that came before me went through so much just so that I could even have to opportunity or ability to read this book and wright a review on my own.
When the poem is read aloud, the explicit rhyme and rhythm of the lines becomes extremely obvious. In fact, the bouncy rhythm is so uplifting, it occasionally makes the audiences feel like it is too predictable and straight-forward. An example would be “bright with chrysolite”, the word “chrysolite” feels like it is forcefully implemented for the sake of the rhyme. This is somewhat similar to a children’s tale. Most children’s tale as we know it, conveys messages straightforwardly and are easily understood by children, it also has an amiable tone and a merry mood that engages the children 's attention. Similarly, the rhyme and rhythm of this poem is very obvious and explicit, creating a delightful, casual mood that appeals to a young audience. Even though the legend dealt with deep insights about parenting that are intricate and puzzling, the father delivered it in such a gratifying, simple manner that made even the most dark and dreadful matters: like the description of precarious beasts and vicious monsters to sound like a blissful adventure of friendly animals. The sole purpose of this contradiction between the tone and message is to make this seemingly strong and serious topic more tolerable and captivating to the son of the father. Unsensible, impulsive youth is very similar to restless children, a long insipid lecture about deep insights is very difficult for them to buy into. In the same time, a harsh, threatening warning will only make them obey unwillingly, and creating a doubtful relationship will make them uncomfortable to communicate or appeal to their parents. Clearly, the percipient father recognized the ineffectiveness of these unsuitable parenting methods. Instead, he conveyed the message in a uncomplicated, friendly way that made his son to accept his teachings more comfortably. A
A father can play many roles throughout a child’s life: a caregiver, friend, supporter, coach, protector, provider, companion, and so much more. In many situations, a father takes part in a very active position when it comes to being a positive role model who contributes to the overall well-being of the child. Such is the case for the father in the poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden. In this poem, readers are shown the discreet ways in which a father can love his child. On the other hand, there are also many unfortunate situations where the fathers of children are absent, or fail to treat the children with the love and respect that they undoubtedly deserve. In the contrasting poem “Like Riding a Bicycle” by George Bilgere, readers are shown how a son who was mistreated by his drunken father is affected by their past relationship many years later. Although both of these poems have fairly similar themes and literary techniques, they each focus on contradicting situations based on the various roles a father can play in a child’s life.
enable us to understand the moral of the poem. Which is work hard and you will receive you goals and never give up.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
Indeed, the satirical tone of this poem suggests that the speaker is somewhat critical of his father. The whiskey smell, the roughness, the inconsiderate and reckless actions are under scrutiny. The mother's frowning countenance suggests she too is rather unhappy with the scene. However, the winning tone of the poem is the light and comical one.
situation is not to surrender to fear and the author shows this idea throughout the poem that we
In the second half of the poem, a new facet of the speaker's attitude is displayed. In line 17, she wants to improve the ugliness of her "child" by giving him new clothes; however, she is too poor to do so, having "nought save homespun cloth" with which to dress her child. In the final stanza, the speaker reveals poverty as her motive for allowing her book to be sent to a publisher (sending her "child" out into the world) in the first place. This makes her attitude seem to contradict her actions.
In the end, the poem is looking to show what actions can do in the long run. It teaches us to be very cautious with everything we do since it can affect the people around us. It can have good or bad
By using easy to comprehend language Millay convinces her readers to go along with turbulent and sometimes unrealistic action to convey common feelings for all people. No matter what theme the reader applies to this poem it is important in some way to every reader and has meaning in many situations.
Poems are often designed to express deep feelings and thoughts about a particular theme. In Theodore Roethke’s poem, My Papa’s Waltz, and Ruth Whitman’s poem, Listening to grownups quarreling, the theme of childhood is conveyed through their details, although we can neither see a face nor hear a voice. These poems are very much alike in their ideas of how their memories pertain to the attitudes of their childhood; however, the wording and tones of the two poems are distinct in how they present their memories. The two poems can be compared and contrasted through the author’s use of tone, imagery, and recollection of events; which illustrate each author’s memories of childhood.
Not only the words, but the figures of speech and other such elements are important to analyzing the poem. Alliteration is seen throughout the entire poem, as in lines one through four, and seven through eight. The alliteration in one through four (whisky, waltzing, was) flows nicely, contrasting to the negativity of the first stanza, while seven through eight (countenance, could) sound unpleasing to the ear, emphasizing the mother’s disapproval. The imagery of the father beating time on the child’s head with his palm sounds harmful, as well as the image of the father’s bruised hands holding the child’s wrists. It portrays the dad as having an ultimate power over the child, instead of holding his hands, he grabs his wrists.
Rudyard Kipling wrote his poem in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. "For All We Have and Are," is a calling to protect England from a real possibility of falling. Kipling describes an urgent need to fight back, "Stand up and take the war./ The Hun is at the gate!" He knows that fighting means the loss of life, but he believes it is worth it to defend what is at stake, "For all we have and are." Kipling makes the point that as long as England prevails, the death of an individual is unimportant.
The choice of words of the author also contributes to the development of the theme. For example, the use of words like "drafty," "half-heartedly," and "half-imagined" give the reader the idea of how faintly the dilemma was perceived and understood by the children, thus adding to the idea that the children cannot understand the burden the speaker has upon herself. In addition, referring to a Rembrandt as just a "picture" and to the woman as "old age," we can see that these two symbols, which are very important to the speaker and to the poem, are considered trivial by the children, thus contributing to the concept that the children cannot feel what the speaker is feeling.
“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” –Rudyard Kipling. Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30, 1865 at Bombay, India. Kipling spent the first six years of his idyllic life in India until his family moved back to England in 1871. After six months of living in England his parents abandoned him and his three year old sister, leaving them with the Holloway family, which in turn mistreated him physically and psychologically, this left him with a sense of betrayal and scars mentally, but it was then Kipling started to grow a love for literature. Between 1878 and 1882 he attended the United Services College at Westward Ho in north Devon. The College was a new and very rough boarding school where, nearsighted and physically frail, he was once again teased and bullied, but where, nevertheless, he developed fierce loyalties. In 1882 Kipling returned to India, where he spent the next seven years working in various capacities as a journalist and editor. Kipling also started writing about India itself and the Anglo-Indian society, This is where Kipling's admiration began to one day be a part of the British military. By 1890 Kipling returned to England and was a well know poet as well as an author. Kipling was the highest paid poet of his time by the age of 32. Rudyard Kipling’s incredible support for the British war effort caused his poems, such as Boots, The Last of the Light Brigade, and Tommy, to convey the theme that soldiers are rarely seen as heroes until freedom is at stake.