Ruyard Kipling Context

Overview/Content/Themes

Intro

Today we will be talking about how Rudyard Kipling wrote his poem “If-“. (THEMES) It is an extremely deep and meaningful poem about a father giving his son, all the advice he can about life and how to succeed in becoming a well-adjusted human being. The father is quite demanding of the son and this really comes through in the author’s craft. The author’s diction in the poem is extremely controlling, the most affective words are the smaller and more unnoticeable words. We will be talking about: the Diction and Structure he used. We are going to be comparing it to another childhood poem and also looking into why he wrote it in the first place.

Overview

It is about a father giving his son a lecture on how to become a man.

Content

Themes

The themes that occur throughout the poem in “If-“ are ones of education, wisdom being passed on and guidance from an older source to a younger generation.

Writer’s Craft 1 – MAX

Another form of the writer’s craft which shows the sense of childhood education within the poem is the structure. The structure builds up the tension with the constant use of “If” and then the tension is released when the question is answered at the end of the poem.

Writer’s Craft 2 – MAX

The writer’s craft from this poem can be really useful to compare “if-“ to any other poems that possess the same theme of childhood.

Comparison 1 – James

There are many contrasts to be drawn between “If-“ and “Hide and Seek” with regards to its connections with Childhood. A lot can be inferred through the language used in the two and its varying themes.

During “Hide and Seek” a child is playing hide and seek with his friends. At the end he is alone and has waited too long to tell his friends that he has won. This contrasts with the ending in if – which leaves the child feeling proud of himself this contrasts with the loneliness that the child feels in “Hide and Seek”. This is shown by the uses of “You’ll be a man my son” and “But where were those who sought you?” These contrast as the “If-“quote is direct speech, showing that

...