If by Rudyard Kipling

Stylistic Analysis of the Poem 'If' by
Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by
Arnie Marie R. Paclibar
Student
NIPSC Ajuy Campus
Submitted to:
Sharon O. Calimpong
Student, Ph. D. in Applied Linguistics
NIPSC Ajuy Campus
May 22, 2023

Abstract
The paper intends to give a stylistic analysis of the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling
on three fundamental levels: phonological, morphological, and pragmatically. The poem
has been a source of inspiration for disheartened youth, and is a linguistic marvel
because of its unique structure and style. The poem is written in a form of paternal
advice to the poet’s son. The poet has employed several literary devices and
techniques in the poem that have been stylistically analysed. The findings of the study
would help the readers in understanding the core principles and concepts of Stylistics
that have been aesthetically employed by the poet in the poem ‘If’.
Introduction
Stylistics is a branch of Applied Linguistics that studies the study of style in a text.
It initially focused on literary texts, but in the 1960s it was expanded to non-literary texts.
The goal of Stylistics is to provide a scientific and objective commentary on the linguistic
features of a text based on concrete and quantifiable data processed systematically.
In this paper, the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling was stylistically analyzed on three
fundamental levels: phonological, morphological, and pragmatical. The poem is filled
with motivation and ultimate inspiration that tells us how to deal with difficult
circumstances in our life.
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short story writer and a novelist,
chiefly remembered for his works for children and support for British imperialism. He
also received the 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature. Kipling was the author of “If”, the poem
which will be the focus of analysis in this paper.
Methodology
In this paper, the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling is stylistically analysed using
qualitative research. The researchers have analysed the poem on three fundamental
levels: phonological, morphological, and Pragmatical.
1. Phonological Level. Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how

sounds form patterns in a language and across languages. It also studies
and analyses literary texts, particularly poetry, which has its own unique
sound patterns. This paper analyzed the poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling and
highlighted segmental and supra-segmental features.
Assonance
In Stylistics, assonance is a literary technique that is used in any form of

language in general, and in poetic compositions in particular, for the amusement of ear
or to put more emphasis on the message being conveyed. When in a composition, two
identical vowels are repeated with differing consonant sounds, then it is said to be in
assonance with each other. In the poem ‘If’, the technique of assonance can be
observed being used in the words ‘allowance’ and ‘doubting’ as the identical vowel ‘/ɑu/’
can be spotted in both the words.
Half Rhyme
A half rhyme is a kind of rhyme in which the initial or final consonant sounds are
identical but the vowel sound embedded in them differs from each other. In the poem
‘If’, the word ‘losing’ and ‘blaming’, and ‘being’ and ‘hating’ are half-rhymed.
Perfect Rhyme
Perfect rhyme is a type of rhyme in which the stressed vowels and the following
consonant sounds are identical whereas the preceding sounds are not. In the poem ‘If’,
the words ‘meat’ and ‘treat’, ‘nerve’ and ‘serve’, and ‘talk’ and ‘walk’ are in perfect rhyme
because of the common stressed vowel sounds and following consonant sounds.
Eye Rhyme
Eye rhyme is that rhyme in which words are spelled similarly but pronounced
differently. In the poem ‘If’, the word ‘bear’ and ‘hear’ are the example of an eye rhyme
because they are spelt alike but their sound varies as in the word ‘bear’ the diphthong
‘/eə/’ is used and in the word ‘hear’ the diphthong ‘/ɪə/’ is used.
Alliteration
In Stylistics, alliteration is the repetition of the same initial sound in sequential

words or in a sentence. In the poem ‘If’, alliteration can be found being used as “treat
those two imposters the same.”
Table 1
Assonance Half-rhyme Perfect Eye-Rhyme Alliteration

Rhyme
/ɑu/: /ɪŋ/:being/hating /i:/: /eə/ & /ɪə/: /t/:

allowance/doubting/eɪ/ /ɪŋ/: meet/treat /ɜ:v/: bear/hear treat/those/two/the
: knaves losing/blamig nerve/serve /o/:
and make /ɔ:k/: talk/walk on/of/toss
2. Morphological Level. As one of the crucial branches of Linguistics,
morphology is the study of word-structure and word-formation in a language.
In Morphology, the most fundamental unit of a word is a morpheme that can
be defined as the smallest meaningful unit of language that cannot be
further subdivided. Moreover, there are two main types of morphemes that
are ‘free morphemes’ and ‘bound morphemes’, respectively. Free
morphemes have the potential of being alone and can take place in a
sentence on its own, whereas, the bound morphemes are bound to stick or
take place with another morpheme. Also, there is another important term
used in Morphology that is ‘root’ by which one means to refer to those
morphemes from which other morphemes are formed. From the poem ‘If’,
free morphemes such as ‘allowance’, ‘breathe’; bound morphemes such as
‘-ed’, ‘-(e)s’, ‘-en’, ‘ing’; and, root words such as, ‘begin’ ‘fool’ ‘crowd’ have
been highlighted in table no. 02.
Table 2
Free Bound Root

a, about, after, again, all, -(e)d: hated, lied, tired, be, begin, blame, break, crowd,
allowance, and, are, be, bear, twisted doubt, dream, foe, fool, forgive,
breathe, build, -(e)s: beginnings, crowds, friend, hate, imposter, king,
but, by, can, common, count, dreams, knave, lie, lie, lose, love, say,
deal, disaster, distance, doubt, foes, fools, friends, second, speak, their, thing,
dream, imposters, kings, thought, winning, tire, twist,
earth, except, fill, for, force, gave, knaves, lies, says, seconds, wait, your
give, gone, good, head, heap, theirs,
hear, things, thoughts, winnings,
heart, hold, hurt, if, in, in, it, just, yours
keep, life, long, look, lose, make, -en: broken, spoken,
man, master, meet, men, minute, -ing: being, blaming,
more, much, my, neither, nerve, doubting,
none, nor, of, on, one, or, pitch, everything, hating, losing,
risk, run, same, serve, sinew, loving,
sixty, nothing, unforgiving,
son, start, stoop, talk, the, their, waiting
there, think, those, too, toss,
touch,
trap, treat, triumph, trust, truth,
turn, two, up, virtue, wait, walk,
way,
when, which, will, wise, with,
word, worth, yet, you, your
3. Pragmatical Level. Pragmatics is a branch of Linguistics in which one studies the
interpretation or comprehension of language in accordance to its context; or, to put it
more simply, how linguistic meaning is interpreted in a particular context. In order to
rightly understand a piece of language, one has to have knowledge of linguistic context,
thematic or situational context. In the pome ‘If’, Kipling has used some certain pragmatic
features that have been highlighted as follows:
Anaphora
Anaphora is a literary technique in which certain words or phrases, throughout

the passage, are repeated in successive clauses or sentences. By the use of this
technique, writers or speakers put emphasis on their main objective or the message
being conveyed. In the poem ‘If’, Kipling has repeated several times the phrase “If you
can”, and thus, he has made the objective or central theme of the poem that only “If you
can” do things and overcome feelings asked by the poet, you can achieve your goals
and become truly a man.
Abstract Diction
In pragmatics, abstract diction is referred to the expression that creates no

mental picture in the readers’ mind. Thus, the readers would have to be provided the
required or remaining text in order to understand the actual meaning of the passage. In
the poem ‘If’, the title ‘If’ is the example of an abstract diction because when a reader
reads it, he has no sense of what it means. Only when the reader has read the entire
poem, he realizes what is meant by the title ‘If’.
Personification
Personification is a figure of speech used in literary writings in which non-human

entities, things or ideas are given the humanly attributes or qualities as if they were
humans. By personifying, writers make their writing more sentimental and vibrant. In the
poem ‘If’, dreams are personified as ‘master’ who can control us; success as ‘Triumph’
which can make us complacent; failure as ‘Disaster’ which can make us believe that
failure is per meant; the verb ‘Will’ is personified as if it was a human who tells us to
“Hold on!”
Metaphor
Metaphor is a figure of speech which is used in literary writings for making an

implicit or hidden comparison between two entirely different things but have some
peculiar common characteristics. In the poem ‘If’, Kipling has called ‘Triumph’ and
‘Disaster’ the two ‘imposters’ which is a person who disguises himself in order to
deceive someone. Same is the case with ‘worn-out tools’, it’s used as a metaphor for a
feeling of exhaustion which can force someone to quit or give up.
Symbolism
In literary writings, symbolism is referred to the use of symbols for certain things
or ideas in order to signify them. Through symbolism, writers embed symbolic meanings
different from that of literal meaning in their writing. In the poem ‘If’, ‘knaves’, ‘crowds’,
‘kings’, ‘common touch’ have been used as symbols to mean ‘liars’, ‘common men’,
‘influential people’ and ‘humility’, respectively.
Table 3
Anaphora Abstract Personificatio Metaphor Symbolism

Diction n
If you can If (Title of the Dreams Imposters Knaves crowds

poem) Triumph worn-out tools kings common
disaster will touch
Conclusion
The objective of this study was to discover the style and methods used by poet
while writing this poem. In order to understand the poem, the poem was stylistically
analyzed on three fundamental grounds: phonological, morphological, and pragmatical.
It has also been proved that a literary piece of writing has many hidden features that a
reader has to analyze in order to interpret and comprehend it.
In the poem ‘If’, the poet has employed several literary devices and techniques in order
to put more emphasis on his intended message. The poem ignites a spark of hope, and
is an excellent source of inspiration for the disheartened youth. Apart from its
aesthetical features filled with extraordinary fervour, the poem is a linguistic marvel as
well.
References
1. Carter, Ronald, and Peter Stockwell, Ed, THE Language and Literature Reader. New
York: Routledge, 2008.
2. Leech, Geoffrey N. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. Longman, 1969.
3. Short, Mick. Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays, and Prose. Longman, 1996.
4. Wales, Katie. A Dictionary of Stylistics, London: Longman Group UK Limited, 1989.
5. Widdowson, Henry George. Stylistics and the Teaching of Literature, Longman:
London, 1975.

If by Rudyard Kipling

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Stylistic Analysis of the Poem 'If' by

Arnie Marie R. Paclibar

NIPSC Ajuy Campus

Student, Ph. D. in Applied Linguistics

NIPSC Ajuy Campus

May 22, 2023

1. Phonological Level. Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how

In Stylistics, assonance is a literary technique that is used in any form of

In Stylistics, alliteration is the repetition of the same initial sound in sequential

Assonance Half-rhyme Perfect Eye-Rhyme Alliteration

/ɑu/: /ɪŋ/:being/hating /i:/: /eə/ & /ɪə/: /t/:

Free Bound Root

Anaphora is a literary technique in which certain words or phrases, throughout

In pragmatics, abstract diction is referred to the expression that creates no

Personification is a figure of speech used in literary writings in which non-human

Metaphor is a figure of speech which is used in literary writings for making an

Anaphora Abstract Personificatio Metaphor Symbolism

If you can If (Title of the Dreams Imposters Knaves crowds

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