'IF' by Kipling ... A review by Nivya Sajan

'If' is a frabjous poem written by Rudyard Kipling, an elegant writer. He is the one who framed the famous 'Jungle book'. 'If' is a poem which captured attraction from nationwide. It has a superfine content with great messages. 


'If' is a didactic poem. Through the poem, the poet discusses about the qualities a perfect man should have and trains the world how to succeed at every moment of life. 

The poem advises the world to be honest and self controlled. We should wait for the excellence. A perfect man is embedded with values. So, we should capture and maintain it. We should have a dream to attain excellence in life. 

Don't lose heart when others lie about you. We should not consider triumph and disaster as final. Accept tasks and get up from failures. The poem concludes that, by accepting everything,we become a true man. 

Poetic devices such as rhyme, alliteration and assonance are cleverly used. The line 'If you can dream and not make dreams your master' is an alliteration used in the poem. Figures of speech such as personification and metaphor are also used. No regular rhyming scheme is there. The poem is rich with a lot of conditional parts and its results. The poem has an universal appeal. It discusses about the qualities a great leader should have in his life. The values of life follow through the poem.

Review by Nivya Sajan