If—: Difference between revisions
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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.).{{cn|date=October 2017}} |
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.).{{cn|date=October 2017}} |
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The lines that include "two impostors" are visible in the tennis club scene of the 1951 [[Alfred Hitchcock]] film ''[[Strangers on a Train (film)|Strangers on a Train]]''. |
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"If—" is liberally quoted in the fine print of [[Emanuel Bronner|Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap]] bottles, and a recording of Dr. Bronner reading the poem (and making other speeches) is available from the company. |
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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 (TV series)|The Johnny Cash Show]]''. |
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The cab driver character Alex ([[Judd Hirsch]]) begins the poem and it's finished by the unlikely character Jim ([[Christopher Lloyd]]) in season 2 episode 22 of the television show [[Taxi_(TV_series)|TAXI]] |
The cab driver character Alex ([[Judd Hirsch]]) begins the poem and it's finished by the unlikely character Jim ([[Christopher Lloyd]]) in season 2 episode 22 of the television show [[Taxi_(TV_series)|TAXI]] |
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"If—" is quoted in an abbreviated form in ''[[White Squall (film)|White Squall]]'' (1996) by McCrea, the English teacher played by [[John Savage (actor)|John Savage]]. |
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In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Grandpa Simpson quotes an abbreviated portion in ''Old Money'' as justification to betting all the winnings of a recent inheritance at [[roulette]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?episode=s02e17|title=The Simpsons s02e17 Episode Script {{!}} SS|website=Springfield! Springfield!|access-date=2016-07-04}}</ref> |
In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Grandpa Simpson quotes an abbreviated portion in ''Old Money'' as justification to betting all the winnings of a recent inheritance at [[roulette]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?episode=s02e17|title=The Simpsons s02e17 Episode Script {{!}} SS|website=Springfield! Springfield!|access-date=2016-07-04}}</ref> |
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The fictional character [[Bridget Jones]] was powerfully struck by “If-”: “Poem is good. Very good, almost like [[self-help book]]”.<ref>H. Fielding, ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' (Picador 2000) p. 308</ref> |
The fictional character [[Bridget Jones]] was powerfully struck by “If-”: “Poem is good. Very good, almost like [[self-help book]]”.<ref>H. Fielding, ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' (Picador 2000) p. 308</ref> |
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The poem is recited almost in full by actor [[Ricky Tomlinson]] in the title role of the 2001 film ''[[Mike Bassett: England Manager]]''. |
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"If—" is quoted in an abbreviated form in ''[[Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius]]'' (2004) both by [[Bobby Jones (golfer)|Bobby Jones]], and by [[Oscar Bane Keeler]], the newspaper reporter. |
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The poem was adapted and performed as a song by [[Joni Mitchell]] on her 2007 album ''[[Shine (Joni Mitchell album)|Shine]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm?id=311|title=Joni Mitchell - If - lyrics|website=jonimitchell.com|accessdate=16 October 2017}}</ref> |
The poem was adapted and performed as a song by [[Joni Mitchell]] on her 2007 album ''[[Shine (Joni Mitchell album)|Shine]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm?id=311|title=Joni Mitchell - If - lyrics|website=jonimitchell.com|accessdate=16 October 2017}}</ref> |
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"If—" is referred to in the song 'If (When You Go)' by [[Judie Tzuke]] from the album ''[[Moon on a Mirrorball]]''. |
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[[Brand New (band)|Brand New]] refers to the poem in their song "[[Sowing Season]]", on their album ''[[The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me]]''. |
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The first lines of the poem are used as a password in the 2015 film ''[[Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation]]''. |
The first lines of the poem are used as a password in the 2015 film ''[[Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation]]''. |
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Revision as of 00:07, 17 March 2018
| If— | |
|---|---|
| by Rudyard Kipling | |
.jpg) A Doubleday, Page & Co. edition from 1910 | |
| First published in | Rewards and Fairies |
| Publisher | Doubleday, Page & Company |
| Publication date | 1910 |
"If—" is a poem by English Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, written circa 1895[1] as a tribute to Leander Starr Jameson. It is a literary example of Victorian-era stoicism.[2] The poem, first published in Rewards and Fairies (1910), is written in the form of paternal advice to the poet's son, John.[3]
Publication
"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,[4] 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).[5][6]
Text
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, 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 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
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.[7] The British cultural-artifact status of the poem is evidenced by the parodies of the poem, and by its popularity among Britons.[8][9]
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.[10]
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.[3] (These same lines appear at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, where the US Open was played.)[11] The first verse is set, in granite setts, into the pavement of the promenade in Westward Ho! in Devon.[12]
The Indian writer Khushwant Singh considered the poem "the essence of the message of The Gita in English."[13]
In popular culture
In 1914 the New Zealand School Journal published the poem without asking permission following the outbreak of World War I. The Education Department wrote to the publishers and offered to pay a "reasonable fee". Kipling, who routinely turned down requests to publish "If—", asked for £50 to settle the matter. The Solicitor-General said that the Crown was not bound by the New Zealand Copyright Act of 1913, and could reprint the whole of Kipling's works if it chose.[14]
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.).[citation needed]
The cab driver character Alex (Judd Hirsch) begins the poem and it's finished by the unlikely character Jim (Christopher Lloyd) in season 2 episode 22 of the television show TAXI
In The Simpsons, Grandpa Simpson quotes an abbreviated portion in Old Money as justification to betting all the winnings of a recent inheritance at roulette.[15]
The fictional character Bridget Jones was powerfully struck by “If-”: “Poem is good. Very good, almost like self-help book”.[16]
The poem was adapted and performed as a song by Joni Mitchell on her 2007 album Shine.[17]
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.[18]
See also
- "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
- ^ [1]
- ^ Osborne, Kristen (28 April 2013). McKeever, Christine (ed.). "Rudyard Kipling: Poems Study Guide: Summary and Analysis of "If—"". GradeSaver. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Kipling, Rudyard. "Something of Myself." Rudyard Kipling: Something of Myself and Other Autobiographical Writings. Ed. Thomas Pinney. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991. 111. Print.
- ^ "The New Britannica Encyclopædia", 15th Edition, volume 6, pp. 489–90.
- ^ Halsall, Paul (July 1998). "Rudyard Kipling: If". Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Fordham University. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "Spartans and Stoics – Stiff Upper Lip". ICONS of England. Culture24. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Jones, Emma (2004). The Literary Companion. Robson. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-86105-798-3.
- ^ Robinson, Mike (2002). Literature and Tourism. The Thomson Corporation. p. 61. ISBN 1-84480-074-1.
- ^ Mishra, Piyush; (India Interrupted Blog), Anshuman. "If - Rudyard Kipling". mishrapiyush.wordpress.com. Word Press. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ Smith, Liz (29 August 1966). "Round One At Forest Hills". Sports Illustrated. No. Volume 25, No. 9. Time Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
{{cite news}}:|issue=has extra text (help) - ^ http://prolandscapermagazine.com/sureset-if-by-rudyard-kipling-for-westward-ho/
- ^ Khushwant Singh, Review of The Book of Prayer by Renuka Narayanan, 2001
- ^ "Wronged Kipling seeks £50". Stuff (Fairfax). 13 January 2018.
- ^ "The Simpsons s02e17 Episode Script | SS". Springfield! Springfield!. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ H. Fielding, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (Picador 2000) p. 308
- ^ "Joni Mitchell - If - lyrics". jonimitchell.com. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Spacey narrates Kipling's 'If' to honor Ortiz".
External links
- 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
