2024年1月4日发(作者：家用路由器推荐)

Poetry Appreciation ─ If

Edmund Clarence Stedman said, poetry is rhythmical, imaginative language expressing the

invention, taste, thought, passion, and insight of the human soul. As part of literature, poetry does

have great effect on human’s spirit. In my view, to be a student, the most important thing is what we

can learn from poetry and how it can guide our life.

Basic information of if

The poem if was written by Rudyard Kipling, who was an English novelist, short story writer

and poet. Since it was published in 1910, if has been widely spread. Even in nowadays, we can still

see it is printed as cards to hang up in offices and bedrooms. If mainly contains the thoughts and

hope of the author to his son, which can be deduced from the last sentence: “you’ll be a Man, my

son!” However we can also deduce that it was the author’s wish to all youngsters.

If consists of four stanzas, and eight lines of each stanza. The four stanzas are respectively about

the life attitude, life dream, setback and personality. The author conveyed much British virtue

through these four aspects according to a famous background story —Dr. Leander Starr Jameson led

about 500 young soldiers and launched an attack against the Boers, in southern Africa.

In short, the theme of this poem is to tell the youngsters what we should be, what we should do,

and what attitude we should hold in today’s society.

The signification of if ─ attitude, behavior, ideal, failure and personality

achieve a Man

We can see in the first stanza: “ keep your head” “trust yourself” “ not be tired by waiting”

“don’t deal in lies” “don’t give way to hating” “ not look too good or talk too wise”. It is not

difficult for us to know that the author tried to tell us what attitude we should hold toward different

aspects in our life. What state we should keep under difficult situation? Obviously, clear mind,

confidence, modesty, honesty, tolerance and self-assessment are the basic elements to become a real

Man according to Rudyard Kipling.

Also in the second and third stanza:

“Not make dreams your master, not make thoughts your aim;”

“Treat Triumph and Disaster the same;”

“Can bear to hear “untruthful thing;

“Stoop and build up “when unlucky come.

“Force your heart “and body to regain your loss;

“Hold on your will “when there is nothing with you…”

Life is not only full of lucky, but also unfortunate, loss. Our behavior and our will make our life.

Without these we will never grow up, never re-succeed.

Most of all, we as human beings are not only live in our world, but in a world shared with others.

To learn to be ourselves and keep our mind and will is not enough for us to stand up in a society, but

learn to interact with others. To keep our virtue, to touch the common, to fulfill our life is the last

thing we need to persist, which is the author told us in the last stanza.

All in all, this poem is the annotation of Victorian stoicism and British virtue. Our attitude and

ideal build up our life direction. Our behavior and movement lead us to our destination. At last

failure is the accelerator towards success if we take it as our friends. We should get ready for the

hostilities and hindrances in our society.

A inspiration for us form if — getting ready for graduation

Now in 21 century, as a junior student in a college, I am going to graduate from school and go

into the society. However the society today is quite different from 1910s. Both of them still have

something in common. What should we do to fit into our society is confronted with us now.

First of all we should get familiar with our society. It is seems that there is no war, no great

depression in our society. It is quite steady and peace now. Moreover, different from past, today’s

economic develops fast. Our life standard is improved as economic developing. However it is not

mean that there is no difficulties in our life. Various competitions in the world make our society more

complicated than before, which also create new difficulties for human. As for us, how to improve our

ability, how to find a good job and fit into it, how to achieve our life goal are the real questions

waiting us to conquer.

Just like the title if, we will never know what situation we may be under, because every case is

possible. The crucial point is to make ourselves get ready for them. As state in if, we should stay

calm and tough in a world that is not ready to help. Responsibilities and qualities that is necessary to

become useful human in our world, especially for our students who are going to graduate. Of course

remembering the poem if can also help us re-exanimate and re-fresh ourselves every time to adjust us

for the society. I think this is the author’s wish as well.

In conclusion, Rudyard Kipling used several assumptions to express proper life attitude,

movement, ideal and personality to cope with different aspects of our life, which also contains his

wish and hope for youngsters. It has such great depth and massage that it may be the one poem that

is a lifelong friend and model to many of us, and guiding us towards to a better life and success.