copybook burne gadsbys deodars learoyd jonimitchell.com ezhimala 84480 rudyard 93s culture24 bambridge kipling ranker deever lampada maurois ehrmann mowgli impostors knaves desiderata wuzzy youghal stalky khushwant geld mirrorball anshuman gradesaver
what is the poem if by rudyard kipling
If -- - wikipedia If -- Jump to : navigation , search For other uses , see If ( disambiguation ) . If -- <Td_colspan="2"> by Rudyard Kipling <Td_colspan="2"> A Doubleday , Page & Co. edition from 1910 First published in Rewards and Fairies Publisher Doubleday , Page & Company Publication date 1910 ( 107 years ago ) ( 1910 ) `` If -- '' is a poem by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling , written in 1895 as a tribute to Leander Starr Jameson . It is a literary example of Victorian - era stoicism . The poem , first published in Rewards and Fairies ( 1910 ) , is written in the form of parental advice to the poet 's son , John . Contents ( hide ) 1 Publication 2 Text 3 Reception 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Publication ( edit ) `` If -- '' first appeared in the `` Brother Square Toes '' chapter of the book Rewards and Fairies , a collection of Kipling 's poetry and short - story fiction , published in 1910 . In his posthumously published autobiography , Something of Myself ( 1937 ) , Kipling said that , in writing the poem , he was inspired by the military actions of Leander Starr Jameson , leader of the failed Jameson Raid against the Transvaal Republic to overthrow the Boer Government of Paul Kruger . The failure of that mercenary coup d'état aggravated the political tensions between Great Britain and the Boers , which led to the Second Boer War ( 1899 -- 1902 ) . Text ( edit ) 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 . If you can wait and not be tired by waiting , Or being lied about , do n't deal in lies , Or being hated , do n't give way to hating , And yet do n't look too good , nor talk too wise : If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master ; If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim ; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster , And treat those two impostors just the same ; If you can bear to hear the truth you 've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools , Or watch the things you gave your life to , broken , And stoop and build ' em up with worn - out tools : If you can make a heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch - and - toss , And lose , and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss ; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone , And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them : `` Hold on ! '' If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue , Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch , If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you , If all men count with you , but none too much ; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds ' worth of distance run , Yours is the Earth and everything that 's in it , And -- which is more -- you 'll be a Man , my son ! Reception ( edit ) As an evocation of Victorian - era stoicism -- the `` stiff upper lip '' self - discipline , which popular culture rendered into a British national virtue and character trait , `` If -- '' remains a cultural touchstone . The British cultural - artifact status of the poem is evidenced by the parodies of the poem , and by its popularity among Britons . T.S. Eliot included the poem in his 1941 collection A Choice of Kipling 's Verse . In India , a framed copy of the poem was affixed to the wall before the study desk in the cabins of the officer cadets at the National Defence Academy , at Pune and Indian Naval Academy , at Ezhimala . In Britain , the third and fourth lines of the second stanza of the poem : `` If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / and treat those two impostors just the same '' are written on the wall of the players ' entrance to the Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club , where the Wimbledon Championships are held . The Indian writer Khushwant Singh considered the poem `` the essence of the message of The Gita in English . '' In popular culture ( edit ) There is a classical translation in French by André Maurois , who was an interpreter with the British Army during the First World War . It was published in `` Les silences du colonel Bramble '' ( 1921 ) , chap . XIV ( Collection Poche , pp. 93s . ) . The poem is quoted in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now by the photographer played by Dennis Hopper , who also read it on The Johnny Cash Show . `` If -- '' is quoted in an abbreviated form in White Squall ( 1996 ) by McCrea , the English teacher played by John Savage . In The Simpsons , Grandpa Simpson quotes an abbreviated portion in Old Money as justification to betting at roulette all the winnings of a recent inheritance . The fictional character Bridget Jones was powerfully struck by `` If - '' : `` Poem is good . Very good , almost like self - help book '' . The poem is recited almost in full by actor Ricky Tomlinson in the title role of the 2001 film Mike Bassett : England Manager . `` If -- '' is quoted in an abbreviated form in Bobby Jones : Stroke of Genius ( 2004 ) both by Robert Tyre `` Bobby '' Jones Jr. , the renowned golfer , played by Jim Caviezel and by Oscar Bane `` O.B. '' Keeler , the newspaper reporter and author who often accompanied Bobby Jones , played by Malcolm McDowell . The poem was adapted and performed as a song by Joni Mitchell on her 2007 album Shine . It was also performed by Roger Whittaker under the title `` A Song for Erik '' . `` If -- '' is also referred to in the song ' If ( When You Go ) ' by Judie Tzuke from the album Moon on a Mirrorball , as well as in the second verse of `` Sowing Season '' , a song by rock band Brand New on their album The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me . The first lines of the poem are used as a password in the 2015 film Mission : Impossible -- Rogue Nation . In 2016 , the Boston Red Sox used the poem in a short video tribute to retiring player David Ortiz , narrated by Kevin Spacey . See also ( edit ) `` Invictus '' by William Ernest Henley `` The Man in the Arena '' by Theodore Roosevelt `` Desiderata '' by Max Ehrmann `` The Gods of the Copybook Headings '' by Rudyard Kipling `` Vitaï Lampada '' by Henry Newbolt References ( edit ) Jump up ^ If poem was written in 1895 by Rudyard Kipling , originally first printed in Circa in 1895 Jump up ^ Osborne , Kristen ( 28 April 2013 ) . McKeever , Christine , ed . `` Rudyard Kipling : Poems Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of `` If -- '' `` . GradeSaver . Retrieved 29 May 2013 . ^ Jump up to : Wansell , Geoffrey ( 20 February 2009 ) . `` The remarkable story behind Rudyard Kipling 's ' If ' -- and the swashbuckling renegade who inspired it '' . Mail Online . Associated Newspapers . Retrieved 29 May 2013 . Jump up ^ Kipling , Rudyard . `` Something of Myself . '' Rudyard Kipling : Something of Myself and Other Autobiographical Writings . Ed . Thomas Pinney . Cambridge : Cambridge UP , 1991 . 111 . Print . Jump up ^ `` The New Britannica Encyclopædia '' , 15th Edition , volume 6 , pp. 489 -- 90 . Jump up ^ Halsall , Paul ( July 1998 ) . `` Rudyard Kipling : If '' . Internet History Sourcebooks Project . Fordham University . Retrieved 6 November 2011 . Jump up ^ `` Spartans and Stoics -- Stiff Upper Lip '' . ICONS of England . Culture24 . Archived from the original on 12 December 2009 . Retrieved 20 February 2011 . Jump up ^ Jones , Emma ( 2004 ) . The Literary Companion . Robson . p. 25 . ISBN 978 - 1 - 86105 - 798 - 3 . Jump up ^ Robinson , Mike ( 2002 ) . Literature and Tourism . The Thomson Corporation . p. 61 . ISBN 1 - 84480 - 074 - 1 . Jump up ^ Mishra , Piyush ; ( India Interrupted Blog ) , Anshuman . `` If - Rudyard Kipling '' . mishrapiyush.wordpress.com . Word Press . Retrieved 15 December 2015 . Jump up ^ Khushwant Singh , Review of The Book of Prayer by Renuka Narayanan , 2001 Jump up ^ `` The Simpsons s02e17 Episode Script SS '' . Springfield ! Springfield ! . Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 04 . Jump up ^ H. Fielding , Bridget Jones : The Edge of Reason ( Picador 2000 ) p. 308 Jump up ^ http://jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm?id=311 Jump up ^ `` Spacey narrates Kipling 's ' If ' to honor Ortiz '' . External links ( edit ) Wikisource has original text related to this article : If -- Reading of `` If -- '' on Wikimedia Commons If public domain audiobook at LibriVox Authentic digital editions archive of `` If -- '' Staging of `` If -- '' as a comic strip <Th_colspan="2"> ( hide ) Rudyard Kipling Novels The Light that Failed ( 1891 ) Captains Courageous ( 1896 ) Kim ( 1901 ) Collections Plain Tales from the Hills ( 1888 ) Soldiers Three ( 1888 ) The Story of the Gadsbys ( 1888 ) In Black and White ( 1888 ) The Phantom ' Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales ( 1888 ) Under the Deodars ( 1888 ) Wee Willie Winkie and Other Child Stories ( 1888 ) From Sea to Sea and Other Sketches , Letters of Travel ( 1889 ) Barrack - Room Ballads ( 1892 , poetry ) Many Inventions ( 1893 ) The Jungle Book ( 1894 ) `` Mowgli 's Brothers '' `` Kaa 's Hunting '' `` Tiger ! Tiger ! '' `` Rikki - Tikki - Tavi '' The Second Jungle Book ( 1895 ) `` Letting in the Jungle '' `` Red Dog '' All the Mowgli Stories ( c. 1895 ) The Seven Seas ( 1896 , poetry ) The Day 's Work ( 1898 ) Stalky & Co. ( 1899 ) Just So Stories ( 1902 ) The Five Nations ( 1903 , poetry ) Puck of Pook 's Hill ( 1906 ) Rewards and Fairies ( 1910 ) The Fringes of the Fleet ( 1915 , non-fiction ) Debits and Credits ( 1926 ) Limits and Renewals ( 1932 ) Rudyard Kipling 's Verse : Definitive Edition ( 1940 ) A Choice of Kipling 's Verse ( by T.S. Eliot , 1941 ) Poems `` The Absent - Minded Beggar '' `` The Ballad of the `` Clampherdown '' '' `` The Ballad of East and West '' `` The Beginnings '' `` The Bell Buoy '' `` The Betrothed '' `` Big Steamers '' `` Boots '' `` Cold Iron '' `` Dane - geld '' `` Danny Deever '' `` A Death - Bed '' `` The Female of the Species '' `` Fuzzy - Wuzzy '' `` Gentleman ranker '' `` The Gods of the Copybook Headings '' `` Gunga Din '' `` Hymn Before Action '' `` If -- '' `` In the Neolithic Age '' `` The King 's Pilgrimage '' `` The Last of the Light Brigade '' `` The Lowestoft Boat '' `` Mandalay '' `` My Boy Jack '' `` Recessional '' `` A Song in Storm '' `` The Sons of Martha '' `` Submarines '' `` The Sweepers '' `` Tommy '' `` Ubique '' `` The White Man 's Burden '' `` The Widow at Windsor '' Short stories ``. 007 '' `` The Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly '' `` Baa Baa , Black Sheep '' `` Bread upon the Waters '' `` The Broken Link Handicap '' `` The Butterfly that Stamped '' `` Consequences '' `` The Conversion of Aurelian McGoggin '' `` Cupid 's Arrows '' `` The Devil and the Deep Sea '' `` The Drums of the Fore and Aft '' `` Fairy - Kist '' `` False Dawn '' `` A Germ - Destroyer '' `` His Chance in Life '' `` His Wedded Wife '' `` In the House of Suddhoo '' `` Kidnapped '' `` Learoyd , Mulvaney and Ortheris '' `` Lispeth '' `` The Man Who Would Be King '' `` A Matter of Fact '' `` Miss Youghal 's Sais '' `` The Mother Hive '' `` Ortheris '' `` The Other Man '' `` The Rescue of Pluffles '' `` The Ship that Found Herself '' `` The Sing - Song of Old Man Kangaroo '' `` The Taking of Lungtungpen '' `` Three and -- an Extra '' `` The Three Musketeers '' `` Thrown Away '' `` Toomai of the Elephants '' `` Watches of the Night '' `` Wireless '' `` Yoked with an Unbeliever '' Related Bibliography Bateman 's home Indian Railway Library Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Iron Ring Law of the jungle Aerial Board of Control My Boy Jack ( 1997 play ) Rudyard Kipling : A Remembrance Tale ( 2006 documentary ) My Boy Jack ( 2007 film ) Family Elsie Bambridge ( daughter ) John Kipling ( son ) John Lockwood Kipling ( father ) MacDonald sisters ( mother 's family ) Stanley Baldwin ( cousin ) Georgiana Burne - Jones ( aunt ) Edward Burne - Jones ( uncle ) Philip Burne - Jones ( cousin ) Edward Poynter ( uncle ) Alfred Baldwin ( uncle ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=If -- &oldid = 804791921 '' Categories : Poetry by Rudyard Kipling 1910 poems Doubleday , Page & Company books Hidden categories : EngvarB from September 2013 Use dmy dates from September 2013 Articles with LibriVox links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Čeština Deutsch Emiliàn e rumagnòl Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Română Русский Shqip Svenska Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 11 October 2017 , at 05 : 18 . 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