"If" by Rudyard Kipling (poetry reading)

[guitarmessiah95]

If i talked like this...

[DEBRACRANFORD]

What a beautiful rendition.

[SneadsTravel]

My daddy made us all memorize this and recite it in our living room. #GoodHomeTraining Thanks Dad!

[Prothalamion]

A great poem and read beautifuly. Thanks!

We need to appriceate Kipling more, he was a superb writer,

always wise, always humane.

[Judelia77]

Did Kipling get a Nobel prize for this or something? Wow!!!

[mrbrianmoran]

Good stuff ,what kind of microphone do you use?

[PoetryNext]

I read that Meyer Lansky kept and carried this poem with him everywhere. Thats how I heard of it, and it truly is an incredible and wise work of wisdom. Maybe i'll start carrying it with me ;)

[monsterenergy359]

Best poem ever.

[LordWellington15]

He was an Orangeman.

[Icequeen1962]

PROFOUND,

[kodakpic07]

Nice some deep meanings.

[LoneHornToad]

This is the human condition.......genius.

[paulpellicci]

very very nice.

[grandslam1998]

Bravo bravo. You really do this justice. Thank you.

[Praverb]

This is definitely a great reading that brings Kipling's words to life. I like the repetitive use of If with this poem.

[uberhandle]

If you can find the words to describe the pitfalls and conflicts all men face and make those words both high and low, simple and direct while etherial and spirtual, If you can do all that. . . you'll be another Rudyard Kipling my son.

[uberhandle]

If you can find the words to describe the pitfalls and conflicts all men face and make those words both high and low, simple and direct while etherial and spirtual, If you can do all that. . . you'll be another Rudyard Kipling my son.

[viking3082000]

I wrote my grade 12 final English Essay based on this poem and another work by Kipling, "The Man Who Would Be King". I was supposed to write about two full length books by one author, but I threw caution to the wind and wrote from the heart. I got high enough marks on that essay to squeeze into University and now I'm close to being a professional writer. Kipling inspires me to the depths of my soul, I even remember being in cub scouts and all our names were from the jungle book, god bless RK

[skynard102]

im supossed to memorize this for school,  all i remember is "if" :]

[Bregowald]

this is excellent. I'd like to see you read Pope's homer.

[ThommyBoy421]

thank you

[63thekey]

some of these words were very comforting when i need it...... the only part i disagree with..... would he have written the same if... for his daughter

[coolsoul09]

Is the reader Ruskin Bond?? sounds like him

[SpokenVerse]

@coolsoul09 Really? Ruskin Bond has a very nice voice but to my ears he has a strong Indian accent.

I read eveything in this channel and I'm from Dorset in the south of England. My voice in influenced by my Irish mother and Yorshire father. As somebody said, it's easy to hush-up the history of one's family but its geography is harder to hide.

I hope you will listen to a few more - with regards, Tom.

[Drizzt011]

Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by themselves.

[jockohomo84]

great poem, no matter how much SpokenVerse tries to undermine it

[bigfilmhat]

Deep, soul massaging poem. The genuine article!

[jmstowe]

I first heard this poem when I was a teenager, but over the years since then I have have to appreciate the timeless wisdom of that poem.

[holden3253]

hmm, i'm sure reading this poem (over and over!) was the kick up the ass i needed a few months ago. Now just stay on the path, stay on the path!!

[oooSierra]

Excellent! One of my favorite poets.

[ShaolinViolin]

damn.. i guess i'm not a man yet.

[RULESWHAT888]

This poem is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! Which ever way you dice it, Robert Frost is advising correctly. It pissed me off that one ass-hole senator tried to recite this poem to play it off, when he is doing the opposite of what this poem advises. I guess the lack of respect for the integrity of the poem and it's substance pissed me off. None the less this is probably one of the wisest poem's I've ever read.

[pylgrym]

Very heavy. Lads, be sure to read the poster's comments and refer to the websites therein... I tried not to lie to my sons and did indeed threaten them with dire paternal consequecnces should they engage to go to war in any distant sunny clime...

[brizzle1750]

Love this poem

[bsastarfire250]

I'm a bit of a cultural desert, but found the George Orwell comments very interesting.

[MushDahl]

Very unique and interesting find. I never heard that and was glad I did afterward. Thank You for sharing.

[wbrutus22]

absolutely love it

[benjamin0520]

this so insperational from a runner's point of view holycrap dude i wish i could get this for an ipod... be willing to throw everything you have away for glory... but still be humble even if you are the best because everything can be lost in just a milli second... this is so inspiring

[SpokenVerse]

@benjamin0520 You can make it into an mp3 for your iPod. Just copy the URL then go to my channel page and follow the link to convert it.

[FatMucnher]

@benjamin0520 youtube converter :D

[W5RAn]

this is read so well. the careful tone in sync with a very measured prescription for manhood... we are posting at at W5RAn in the words section May 4th - thanks so much for sharing this.

[SpokenVerse]

@W5RAn Thank you, it's heartening to get such appreciation

[hkweli]

beautiful..would love to hear 'If we must die' by Claude McKay..thanks

[syllman]

I just discovered your channel today, you've got a great voice for this, and more importantly, you know how to read it properly.

Leonard Cohen wrote something about that, it's called "How to speak poetry" and it's a good read, perhaps you can record it and put it here some time?

[MyUnrealism]

I love the readers voice. It's nice to listen to.

[SpokenVerse]

@gr82bmissy No reading pleases everybody. Did you listen to my first reading of this poem, which doesn't stress the word "If"? It's in the video link box.

[samigjoka]

fantastic poem gret choice and good voice

[PaperMoon2010]

Oooooooh that was beautiful! Very nice I like that!

[Poopaloo55]

'If all men count with you, but none too much.....' Genius!

[yodeling4otters]

Balance. Contradiction. Life.

[domimarko101]

I think that this poem is comlpetley true. I love IT!

[SpokenVerse]

The poem portrays a world full of hardships and a bleak vision of human nature, warning of attacks and betrayals and that people can't be trusted. It recommends an isolated solitary, guarded existence. To people with a similar expeience of life, "If" seems to provide a set of maxims to attain self-realisation.

To others "If" is a prescription for spiritual isolation and failure. I think it was Churchill who said the last line should read "You'll be a God, my son".

[Poopaloo55]

I discovered 'If' when I was 10 and knew it would guide me in life. It has served me well. Tough time right now...needed to hear it.

Thank you for reading so beautifully.

[Causticlight]

This is one of the most inspiring poems I have ever heard... I applaud the author of this fabulous piece.

[SpokenVerse]

If it inspires you to liquidate everything you have acquired and gamble it all on the toss of a coin, lose everything you have and start all over again, will you still think it to be good advice? I'm curious, so please tell me.

[Poopaloo55]

@SpokenVerse I don't think it really means that...as in reckless gambling.

I read it as having the grit to take a calculated risk and face losses with dignity....Life sometimes requires that of us. Some of the criticism I hear seems to come from taking the words absolutely l i t e r a l l y.

[beaulieu4008]

I don't take it so literally. But if I did, can I do it. Are material things so important. Yes! But don't you just want to know that you can do what needs to be done. And to be able to do it again! Ah, but lIfe is too short, too hard. We don't have the means to start over again. Yet we can imagine. I think that is its power. It inspires.

[beaulieu4008]

Isolation is not a bad thing, if you choose to be alone. It is where some of the best works are done. Man is made in the image of God. We can aspire to do great things with our lives. I sympathize with Kipling. To think of what experiences in his life enable him to write this poem is impressive. It tells me that I am not alone. I understand where he is coming from. He wrote it probably because he hopes others can relate, so as not to be alone.

[beaulieu4008]

I guess his intentions for the poem are different than how it is received. The poem took on a life of its own. So in a different context, it can carry a different meaning for everyone. That's the definition of art.

[GBPaddling]

Couldn't have put it better me-self!  Seriously though,what a profound,uplifting work this is,justifiably famous - remarkable.Stars out of 5? - 10.

[labzkoesielynoh]

I almost memorize it!

[romanbrough]

I disagree with some of the sentiments of the poem, but can only know, that this is a real piece of quality. I hope I am mature enough that i can find fault with something, and not always feel the need to attack, or insult it.

[SpokenVerse]

I totally agree with you. Merry Christmas

[mmadk5]

i love this poem!

[bushman77]

am glad i came across this.

[Nulfinator]

Like it or not "If" is an exceptionally popular poem -- almost every high school graduate gets a copy of it in a card. I have always liked the piece, but it is good to hear the other side give the reasons to the contrary.

Thanks for the effort!

[nicetidings]

Thanks for this nice reading. I just wonder why haven't you read any of Emily Dickenson's poems?

[striderscion]

I like your breakdown- we're not all intolerable bastards on this side of the pond, you know.

[ThunderingJove]

Against the consensus, I rather dislike this poem, but, naturally, love your reading of it.

[SpokenVerse]

It reminds me of Soliloquy from Carousel, which is just as wrong-headed. You know, "My Boy Bill..."

[thallassocracy]

I hadn't realised until I watched Ian Hislop's 'Changing of the Bard' documentary that Kipling wrote 'If' in response to the Jameson Raid.

The Jameson Raid is a difficult bit of history. Perhaps a good man did a bad thing for good reasons. Perhaps good but gullible man was manipulated by villains.

Now I am aware of the poem's origin 'If' seems more complex, and less gung-ho, than the way it is usually performed (and received).

And I begin to understand Eliot's love of Kipling.

[SpokenVerse]

So Jameson took responsibility and that inspired "If"? Kipling is clearly addressing his son with a formula for a noble life. Yet we can read between the lines and glimpse the ignominies that created such defence mechanisms. If is really bad advice. Why gamble everything on a coin coming down heads or tails?

Why are poems that glamorise folly so popular? This is better advice from Pushkin, I am in no position to venture the necessary in order to gain the superfluous".

[unterland]

SpokenVerse:

I don't think Kipling expects his "son" to actually achieve all the criteria of a good man as set forth in the poem, at least not all the time. Kipling seems to be emphasizing a very Victorian instinct toward self-betterment, while realizing that perfection is impossible.

[highlightoftheday]

This guys voice is epic.

[firebreathone]

Kipling's poetry has had a great deal of attention (and quite rightly so). However, I sometimes think it is almost a shame that his novels are not as popular: consider his "kim", Plain tales and Jungle Book. This is obviously a true marvel but his imperialist views are very transparant in his poetry (see white man's burden) :)

[Poopaloo55]

I have a tattered and treasured copy of 'Thy Servant, A Dog' ...it's a childhood favourite.

Kipling has been properly criticized for his anti semitic views, but his writing stands alone.

[PausingPoet]

Thank you.

[colourfulbuttons]

one of my favourite poems :)

[sleepingTitania]

I love this poem. Thankyou for this wonderful, dignified reading.