Summary Of If By Tom Wayman
This poem dramatizes the qualities the speaker deems essential in the quest to achieve manhood. The speaker is most likely a fatherly figure to a biological son or a person whom he cares about in a paternal way. “If” especially appeals to younger generations because it provides rules that are “inspirational and motivational in their focus on personal integrity and moral behavior” (Perkins). In an instructive manner, the speaker urges his son to strive for greatness and success but also humility and virtue. He tells him what to do, and also what not to do throughout the poem to achieve a balanced, purposeful life. The recurring message of the poem seems to be resilience in the face of adversity, yet interestingly, such perfection as that described
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The poem begins with an aaaabcbc rhyme scheme and then continues with dedefgfg and so on; the only regularity seems to be that every other line rhymes. The syllabic pattern of the poem is eleven in the first line, ten in the second line; this remains true throughout. In the first stanza, the speaker begins with a clear repetition, or anaphora, of “If you can”, implying perhaps an “uncertainty of accomplishment” (Perkins). Lines 3 and 4 make use of parallel structure to emphasize the “need to both ignore doubt and make allowance for doubt” (Fernando). These parallels used throughout the entire poem are reminiscent of the Proverbs of the Bible, such as “Whoever loves disciplines love knowledge but he who hates reproof is stupid.” The speaker often uses paradoxes to emphasize the necessity of finding balance in life, such as in “If you can wait and not be tired of waiting, or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, or being hated, don’t give way to hating” (5-7). The second stanza reflects the Protestant work ethic in the lines “If you can dream-and not make dreams your master; If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim” (9-10). “Buddhist teaching of the impermanence of the worldly” is evident in “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same” (11-12), because success and
The poem begins with an aaaabcbc rhyme scheme and then continues with dedefgfg and so on; the only regularity seems to be that every other line rhymes. The syllabic pattern of the poem is eleven in the first line, ten in the second line; this remains true throughout. In the first stanza, the speaker begins with a clear repetition, or anaphora, of “If you can”, implying perhaps an “uncertainty of accomplishment” (Perkins). Lines 3 and 4 make use of parallel structure to emphasize the “need to both ignore doubt and make allowance for doubt” (Fernando). These parallels used throughout the entire poem are reminiscent of the Proverbs of the Bible, such as “Whoever loves disciplines love knowledge but he who hates reproof is stupid.” The speaker often uses paradoxes to emphasize the necessity of finding balance in life, such as in “If you can wait and not be tired of waiting, or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, or being hated, don’t give way to hating” (5-7). The second stanza reflects the Protestant work ethic in the lines “If you can dream-and not make dreams your master; If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim” (9-10). “Buddhist teaching of the impermanence of the worldly” is evident in “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same” (11-12), because success and