Rudyard Kipling

By: Angela Zhou, Jing Wen Ren

YingYing Feng & Fion Chen

“If” - 1910“My Boy Jack” - 1915

Personal Biography of Poet Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and

novelist. He was born on December 30, 1865 and died on January 18, 1936. He was born in Bombay, India, but moved to England when he was 5 years old. As a child, his Portuguese and Indian attendants told him stories that would later influence his writing (“Joseph Rudyard Kipling-Biography”).

During his childhood, his parents sent him and his sister, Alice, to live with a couple that abused him regularly.

The European Graduate School states that in January 1878, Kipling went to school at the United Services College, a school to prepare boys for the British Army. During his time, he fell in love with Florence Garrad, and she became the model for Maisie in his first novel, The Light That Failed.

At the end of his school year, he lacked the academic ability to get into Oxford University on a scholarship. Also, his parents lacked the money to finance him.

Personal Biography of Poet (continued)

In 1886, Kipling published his first book of poems Departmental Ditties. His editor asked Kipling to produce short stories that would later be published. Many of these stories would be in the Plain Tales from the Hills. This was Kipling’s first collection of prose that was published in Calcutta in 1888.

During 1889 and 1891, Kipling pushing his novel The Light that Failed. Kipling, an American author, and a publishing agent, Wolcott Balestier had collaborated together on the novel The Naulahka.

In 1907, Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Kipling had only one son, John. He died in 1915 during a battle in the First World

War. This loss inspired Kipling’s poem, “My Boy Jack.”

*“If”If you can keep your head when all about

youAre 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, don’t deal in lies,Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,And yet don’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 DisasterAnd treat those two impostors just the

same;If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve

spokenTwisted 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 one heap of all your winningsAnd risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginningsAnd never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinewTo 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 minuteWith 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!

Historical/Social Background of“If”

“If” is a poem that was written in tribute to the British imperialist politician. This poem was inspired by the military actions of Leander Starr Jameson. He was the leader of the failed Jameson Raid against the South African to overthrow the Boer Government of Paul Kruger.

The poem is divided into four 8-line stanzas with rhythm. The

structural elements used are line, couplet, strophe, and stanza.

This poem uses repetition, meter and verses to express emotions in the poem.

In the poem, there is only one complete stop which is the exclamation mark at the end. This structure suggests that the man is an on-going process that is hard and challenging.

The first four lines all rhyme with each other, the first three end in ‘you’.

The poetic devices Kipling uses to make it meaningful is metaphors, similes, and onomatopoeia.

Analysis of “If”

Explanation of “If”If you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all men doubt youBut make allowance for their doubting too, The first stanza of the poem grasps the idea of individuality. This stanza teaches about self-worth, there is always going to be people disagreeing or misunderstanding you; but never doubt yourself and your opinion. You always have the power to reject their opinions. Although, you should always be confident, don’t be over confident. If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating,And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: The first line talks about being patient. You can wait, but can you really be patient? The second line talks about honesty and integrity, you don’t want to be lied to and you should always be truthful. The third line hints about love, mercy, and forgiveness. The fourth line talks about humility ( being able to be modest) and being respectful to others. 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 DisasterAnd treat those two impostors just the same;If you can bear to hear the truth you've spokenTwisted 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; The first and second line talks about being able to envision possibilities and being able to take action. The next two lines talk about faith, when you meet “Triumph and Disaster”, you should have trust and confidence in “them”. The next lines say that you have to be able to remain constant and not change one-self. The next line of this stanza talks about being able to retain self-control and always having peace in mind, always being optimistic. The last two lines state that when you see something that you have worked hard for destroyed, endure. Be able to have perseverance and resilience, everything will take its shape again.

If you can make one heap of all your winningsAnd 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 sinewTo serve your turn long after they are gone,And so hold on when there is nothing in youExcept the Will which says to them: "Hold on!" The first two lines talk about being able to have trust and faith in you. Be able to be bold and risk all you have to something that isn’t guaranteed. The next line six, and line eight talks about ,again, perseverance, in spite of all the obstacles you may face overcome them and be determined to regain yourself. The fourth line talks about being able to lose, but not complaining about it. The next line and line seven means that you can regain all you have loss and remain constant again, so don’t give up and hold on and be determined to finish. 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 minuteWith 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! The first two lines talk about modesty and being able to be flexible and going out of your comfort zone. The next two lines talks about faith, since no one can hurt you, have self-confidence and carry-on. Make the best out of your time. The last two lines of “If” hints on the skill of leadership and success. If you are able to have necessary traits everything can be yours.

*“My Boy Jack”“Have you news of my boy Jack?”

Not this tide.“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Has any one else had word of him?”Not this tide.

For what is sunk will hardly swim,Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”None this tide,Nor any tide,

Except he did not shame his kind —Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,This tide,

And every tide;Because he was the son you bore,

And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!

Historical/Social Background of“My Boy Jack”Wikipedia’s article regarding “My Boy Jack”

implies that Kipling wrote it after his son, John (aka Jack), his 18 year old, went missing in September 1915 during the Battle of Loos, during World War I. Kipling felt that it was his fault for his son's death because he made his son join the army even though John had failed to join twice because of his bad eyesight. Rudyard Kipling knew a friend in the army that pulled tricks allowing John to join the army.

The poem has four stanzas. Kipling uses the word ‘tide’ in every stanza, and

there are repeated patterns in each stanza. There are cross rhymes in the poem, and the

rest of the ending of the lines are ‘tide.’ A unique property presented in this poem is

that it seems to have two speakers, one asking and one answering whets being asked. This creates a back and forth pattern. It is structured like a dialogue.

Analysis of “My Boy Jack”

Explanation of “My Boy Jack”Upon receiving devastating news, that his son had gone

missing Rudyard Kipling wrote “My Boy Jack”.

The first speaker of this poem asks for news regarding his

son, but the second speaker answers not this tide. The

repetition of the word “tide” , probably refers to death at

sea.

The blowing wind and receding tide gives us a feeling of

absence. Once something is gone its gone forever. It leaves

you with a feeling of incompleteness. How can you feel

complete again with this missing piece?

He left with integrity and dignity.

The last stanza talks about the sadness felt by Kipling. Civic

duty was important many young men had to die for their

country, but the lost of his son gave Rudyard Kipling a feeling

of absence.

“Have you news of my boy Jack?”Not this tide.

“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Has any one else had word of him?”Not this tide.

For what is sunk will hardly swim,Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”None this tide,Nor any tide,

Except he did not shame his kind —Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,This tide,

And every tide;Because he was the son you bore,

And gave to that wind blowing and that tide

‘My Boy Jack’, and ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling both are rhyming poems.

They are opposing ideas. In ‘My Boy Jack,’ the poem is about not being able to have news about Jack, and not knowing where he is. In ‘If’, the poem is about not giving up, and being able to do something.

Both poems express the poet in his own life. In ‘If,’ he is talking about the wars and his own tragic life. It contains mottos in life, and a blueprint for behavior and self-development.

 In ‘My Boy Jack,’ Rudyard was expressing how his son died during the war, and how they couldn’t find him. 

Comparison

Learning about the poem “If” has helped us deepen our understanding of poetry because it teaches its readers that poetry is not limited to rhymes but can also have important meaning behind it by using other poetic devices and terminology to show character and structure. This specific poem says a lot about its poet, Rudyard Kipling, by highlighting his hardships and struggles in life through the use of poetry and it was the truth in his words that drew me to this poem.

Significance

Original Work:Summer Fun

Written by Fion Chen

Once the squawking has begun, you know that it's time for fun.

Though the winds don't cease their roam, within new scents arise of foam

When you see the warm blazing sun, you know it's time to go to the beach for

a run.

Original Work:The Other Side

Written by YingYing Feng

What's on the other sideAs my wonder knocks

To escape this boxWhat waits on the other side

I have tried To escape

As the opportunities awaitThe ones I have left to create

If I could just escape

Original Work:The Wait

Written by Angela Zhou

So much of our lives spent waitingBut for what; we know not of

Sometimes even waitingFor something that might not even come to us

Fear of the unknownStops us from venturing further

Even after all the bidingWe dread the moments in between

‘Til we have to wait again

Original Work:Patience

Written by Jing Wen RenPatience

Patience is virtue

One can wait, but can they endure

Wait through the anxiety, and wonder

Don’t act as if there’s no time to wait

It takes time for fate

There are times where you have to be still

It all relies on your will

You can’t rush something

That cannot be rushed

Works Cited

Chapman, Alan. “If- Rudyard Kipling.” Business Balls. Google., 2001. Web. 5 June 2013.“If.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia., 2 June 2013. Web. 5 June 2013.“Joseph Rudyard Kipling- Biography.” The European Graduate School. EGS., 2012. Web. 5 June 2013.“My Boy Jack (poem).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia., 2 Apr. 2013. Web. 5 June 2013.“Rudyard Kipling.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia., 5 June 2013. Web. 5 June 2013.