Life is a rollercoaster which offers both ups and downs, and one must learn how to handle both. In this sense, the lines "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / and treat those two impostors just the same" (Kipling: lines 11-12) support the idea that one must be ready for both success and failure. Triumph and Disaster are two nouns that are written in capital letters in order to have deeper meaning and to resonate with the audience; the two words become the names of the "impostors" that everyone is faced with at some point. Here, "impostors" is a metaphor for the deceitful appearances that certain events can have. Consequently, it is safe to assume Kipling's intention here is to blur the line between failure and success in the sense that Triumph and Disaster are presented as two impostors which often switch places, or simply change their appearance, hence be misleading. Dreams also involve endurance and perseverance: "... watch the things you gave your life to, broken, / and stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools" (Kipling: lines 15-16).
Kipling also explores the theme of new beginnings, and invites his audience not to be afraid of taking chances in life. In the third stanza, he tackles the issue of losing and being forced to start over: "And lose, and start again at your beginnings" (Kipling: line 19); his vision incorporates loss; however he encourages his audience not to talk about it, but to resume their efforts and start over without looking back or crying over spilt milk. Strength is another key quality in Kipling's vision of a true man: "And so hold on when there is nothing in you / Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'" (Kipling: lines 23-24).
The final stanza deals with...
Virtue is a quality philosophers and writers have dealt with since ancient times; although there is no fixed definition of virtue, the concept is associated with the realm of ethics, and is considered to refer to doing what is morally right while avoiding what is labeled as wrong. The discussion is very ample, but Kipling narrows it down to a matter of being able to preserve one's individuality in all circumstances. He advises his son to "walk with kings" without losing "the common touch" i.e. To preserve his humility and modesty irrespective of the crowds he is part of; to be strong enough to endure betrayal and hurt from both friends and enemies, and to be merciful and empathetic without allowing anyone to become the center of his existence: "If all men count with you, but none too much" (Kipling: line 28).
Advice is not dispensed in vain; Kipling believes that following a set of rules both in private and in society is what makes a real man. "Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it" (Kipling: line 33) is a symbolic expression of possessing everything that life has to offer; in order to be able to achieve this, one must learn how to embrace and fully understand life. The poem is not a recipe for happiness or success, but a recipe for self-discovery and self-awareness.
Although reflecting Victorian values - more precisely, fatherly advice during the Victorian era
If" is as relevant today as ever because the core of morality is not altered by the passing of time; what Kipling wrote as the expression of his personal philosophy can be extended and still applied today.
Kipling, Rudyard. "If http://www.swarthmore.edu/~apreset1/docs/if.html
