 Hello and welcome to a summary of all you need to know about the poem IF by Radyard Kipling. Now I'll explain the meaning related to this poem as it appears in Part 3 of the Pearson Idexcel International GCSE anthology. Now do bear in mind that in contrast to Part 1 of the anthology, which featured only non-fiction texts, and Part 2 which was a mix of fiction, short stories and poems, Part 3 of the anthology exclusively features poems alone so in this video I'll highlight key language and literary devices using the poem and you'll learn how to analyse it. So let's get started. Now what I'll do is I'll read parts of each stanza, pause every so often and then highlight important literary techniques that you should annotate if you're reading this as well. So let's begin. 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 tied by waiting or being lied about don't do 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 disaster and treat those two imposters 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 them out with worn out tools. Now this opening part of the poem essentially appears to be almost a way of advising somebody how to deal with all the positives that life brings one but also all the negatives. Now the title of the poem itself if is quite brief it's mysterious and this title in many ways suggests uncertainty and of course this reflects the uncertainty that we all feel as we progress through life which is filled with a lot of unpredictable events. Now this poem from the outset repeats if several times and this conditional clause is consistently repeated again this shows how life can be unpredictable and this is the speaker's way of stating if you're in one situation or another situation this is what you should really do and have as your grounding principles. Now the first line if you now the second person pronoun shows as I've mentioned before that this is a form of advice to somebody we don't know who's been talked to but perhaps we can presume here initially that it's us as readers that are being advised by Rudyard Kipling or the narrator who might not be Rudyard Kipling. Now the second person pronoun is repeated and again this emphasises this repetition emphasises to us that we really need to adopt these principles as we progress through life. Moreover we're told in the first line if you can keep your head and this is an interesting phrase keep your head because this is quite colloquial it's quite casual and again what this does this kind of casual reference is quite disarming for us when we're being advised. Moreover at the end of this first line there's a jump and what this does is it speeds up the pace of the poem. Also the idea of keeping your head when others are losing theirs. Now this references how people can act irrationally and the importance of us acting rationally and thinking in a really rational manner in spite of other people around us not being too rational. Then the speaker states if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you and this is an oxymoron the contrast between trust and doubt and this emphasises the importance of self-belief. Also in line five if you can wait and not be tied by waiting and the repetition of the verb wait emphasises the importance of patience and resilience within all of us. Furthermore the repetition of the conjunction or emphasises the different scenarios and it compounds with the use and the repetition of the conditional clause if. Moreover there's the use of caesura or being lied about don't deal in lies and again what this does is it slows down the pace it creates in some ways a very comforting tone it's almost as if a parent is advising their child or we are put in the position of children or people that need this advice and the caesura slows down the pace of the speech as opposed to on genre which speeds it up. Moreover we are advised as readers don't deal in lies and this imperative sentence in many ways really solidifies the message of this poem this idea that it's really really sound advice that should really guide us through our daily lives. Moreover the speaker the anonymous speaker says and yet don't look too good nor talk too wise and these intensifiers are being used in terms of emphasising the importance of being moderate and adopting a really moderate approach when doing different things not be focused too much on looking too good so being focused on how others perceive us and also of course how others might think we're too wise so it's really important through this intensifier at least being emphasised of being a moderate person but equally not necessarily being showy and so on. Moreover in line 9 if you can dream and in line 10 and if you can think now the mention of dreaming but also thinking emphasises the importance of contemplation dreaming but also action putting into thoughts all your dreams. Moreover the speaker states not make dreams your master and this metaphor advises against being too obsessively ambitious. Moreover there's a lot of caesura in this part of the verse and furthermore there's this emphasis of being able to meet triumph and disaster. Now this again is oxymorons triumph and disaster are opposites and what this does is it emphasises the unpredictability of life you have lots of women's but also lots of losses and you need to be able to adapt to these challenges. Further more triumph and disaster are characterised as two imposters treat these two imposters just the same so this personification shows that actually interestingly enough meeting and experiencing triumph but also experiencing disaster this can be very deceptive if we experience too much triumph we think that we're invincible if we experience too much disaster sometimes this can destroy our self-relief we shouldn't be guided too excessively by either. Moreover in the next line if you can bear to hear the truth that you've spoken and again there's an enjambement here which speeds up the pace of the poem and then it states the truth you've spoken twisted by naves and make a trap for falls and there's a litteration here twisted and trapped and what this emphasises is people will use your words against you they will falsely accuse you sometimes but it's really important to anticipate that but also not be trapped by this. In line 15 watch the things you've given your life to broken now the hyperbole hair reveals a shock of loss that many of us through the course of our lives will have to experience and the importance of not being broken by loss. Moreover there's more colloquialisms used more colloquial language in line 16 and stoop and build them up meaning them and again this colloquialism highlights the importance of being of reinvention after huge setbacks in other words even if we lose everything we should be able to brush ourselves off and also reinvent ourselves. So let's carry on. If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss and lose and start again at your beginnings and ever breathe the word about your loss if you can force your heart and nerve and sin you to serve your turn long after they have gone and so hold on when there's 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 60 seconds worth of distance from yours is the earth and everything that's in it and which is more you'll be a man my son. Now this final part of the poem is really intriguing so in this part essentially the speaker states if you can make one heap of all your winning and there's a lot of language relating to gambling used winnings risk pitch and toss and so this is language related to betting and this belongs to the semantic field of betting and it shows the action of gambling in many ways what this emphasizes is life is one big gamble we never quite know how things are going to turn out. Also 920 and never breathe the word about your loss and again this imperative sentence shows that one should not openly be mown the loss too heavily. Moreover in the following line if you can force your heart and nerve and sinew and the rule of three here heart nerve sinew symbolizes the importance of willpower in spite of losses in spite of difficulties. Furthermore in spite of these difficulties the speaker states force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone and the emphasis on serving your turn shows the importance of focus determination so this is a lot of metaphorical language in terms of talking about the importance of willpower and staying even other when others are giving up. Moreover there's the pronoun they that's used and this is a reference to how most people in society tend to give up they tend to get discouraged too quickly and the importance of being the exception to this rule. Further more then the enjoyment here which again speeds up the pace of the poem and the speaker states accept the will which says to them hold on and this abstract noun will highlights and references the inner voice that we should all have to just keep us going. Moreover in line 25 if you can talk with crowds and keep your virtues or walk with kings now there's this juxtaposition between crowds and kings this contrast between royalty kings and commoners crowds of people and the speaker is actually telling the listener or us that we should treat both similarly. Moreover in line 25 keep your virtue and again this abstract noun which compounds the previous abstract noun in the other line will shows the importance of having very good virtues and good morals. Also walking with kings walk with kings this is a litteration again this emphasizes this idea that you can be both associated with common people and never look down on them but equally you can walk with people who perhaps are part of the elite and not be too taken by that and this is further emphasized with the litteration. Moreover there's the use of caesura hair which then emphasizes the place is even more focused on the importance of not losing the common touch that follows afterwards. Then if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you now there's oxymoron again here foes and friends and what this shows actually is interestingly both have the ability to harm us. Our foes are enemies can harm us but equally our friends can really let us down. They too can betray us and what the speaker is trying to show is that we shouldn't be too excessively naive when dealing with either. Also in line 29 if you can feel the unforgiving minute and again personification here shows that time is relentless time is unforgiving it continues it pauses for no man. Now in line 30 with 60 seconds worth of distance run and this is a metaphor for how brief life is. It's only 60 seconds and it's gone and it's finished and it's important to fill your life with important things to do the right thing in your life and to live a life that you're quite proud of. Then the speaker states yours is the earth and this is hyperbole stating in many ways that if you're able to do this if you're able to hold on to these morals if you're able to keep on going then you will inherit the earth and this is to some degree biblical language blessed are the who are meek they shall inherit the earth and then the poem or rather the speaker ends with you'll be a man my son and now we realize who is being talked to so we now at the end of the poem realize that it's a speaker presumably a father speaking to their son and this is a really perfect example of cataphoric reference. Cataphor is when the subject is later revealed much much later. Thus here this explanatory sentence reveals a speaker is actually advising his son on the importance of self-belief. So that's all if you found this video useful do note that we have an in-depth extensive course covering all the texts and poems in part one two and three of the entire Pearson at Excel International GCSE anthology so do make sure you sign up for this course for explanations on all of these texts and all of these poems as well as model answers when it comes to writing about these different texts. Also make sure you check out our website www.firstreadtutors.com where you will find plenty of English revision worksheets model answers and online courses covering all the major English syllabuses including at Excel, AQA and IGCSE. So thank you so much for listening.