In Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘IF’, the poet personifies Triumph and Disaster and calls them ‘two impostors’ (pretenders/cheaters/deceivers). People become too happy in success and forget their duty at hand. That is why the poet calls triumph and disaster ‘two impostors’.
Why did the poet call the two of them impostors?
Triumph is referred as positive and disaster as negative so we should treat both same and happily to overcome difficulties in our life. Therefore the poet called the two of them impostors.
How can we conclude that triumph and disaster are impostors?
So, we can conclude that both triumph and disaster are impostors. In Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘IF’, the poet personifies Triumph and Disaster and calls them ‘two impostors’ (pretenders/cheaters/deceivers). People become too happy in success and forget their duty at hand.
Why does Keith Kipling call triumph and disaster impostors?
Kipling personifies "Triumph" and "Disaster" and calls them 2 impostors. Impostor are those who come in disguise and deceive you. He means to say that if we get carried away with triumph it would soon lead to a downfall (disaster).
Was Napoleon’s triumph an imposter?
Ultimately, his triumph was an imposter. It was only a matter of time before he was surrounded and defeated by his enemy. Then his triumph was an imposter. His triumph was not real. He lost the battle eventually and ended his life in suicide. Likewise, disaster, when it comes with all of its fury, may look to be real, but it too can be an imposter.
What are triumph and disaster described as in the poem IF?
Answer. Explanation: By "triumph," the poet means moments of success and accomplishment in life, while by "disaster," he implies the time of failure or loss. It's human nature to celebrate and jubilate at time of success and victory.
What according to the poem are the two impostors in life?
What, according to the poem, are the two impostors of life? Answer: According to the poem the two impostors of life are Triumph and Disaster.
What is the definition of impostors?
: a person who deceives others by pretending to be someone else. impostor. noun. im·pos·tor. variants: or imposter \ im-ˈpäs-tər \
What is the difference between disaster and triumph?
The difference between a disaster and triumph lies in whether or not you're prepared and willing to weather the storm. If you're ready, those bumps will become stepping-stones.
What is the risk of all your winnings?
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 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 ...
What does the poet think about the trust?
Answer : We should not trust the future even tough it may seem pleasant because future is never fixed. We never know what we might face in our future. So, the poet says that it's better to live in the present because the present is in our hands.
What according to the poet should be one's attitude to unexpected loss?
Answer: According to the poet one's attitude to unexpected loss should be one of indifference. Triumphs and Tragedies are part of life. Don't be overjoyed at the successes and don't be dejected at the failures.
What is the meaning of "if" in Kipling's poem?
Enotes provides a fine overview of the poem: “If” is a didactic poem, a work meant to give instruction. In this case, “If” serves as an instruction in several specific traits of a good leader. Kipling offers this instruction not through listing specific characteristics, but by providing concrete illustrations of the complex actions a man should or should not take which would reflect these characteristics.” It is interesting that he personifies both “Disaster” and “Triumph,” and capitalizes the words to call attention to this. Kipling also personifies “Will” toward the end of the poem. Significantly, something might look like disaster but not be so, or might look like triumph but might be something else (such as defeat). For these reasons, they—the experiences of disaster and triumph—might be “imposters,” not really what they appear to be. “Will,” however, is unmistakably that; it cannot seem to be anything other than what it really is.
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Was Hitler a triumphant?
Truly, triumph and disaster are imposters. To triumph in a wrong doing is not a time to shout the victory. Hitler was triumphant is his murdering of the innocent Jews. He gloated in his triumph for a while. He was quite triumphant and successful in killing millions of Jews. Ultimately, his triumph was an imposter. It was only a matter of time before he was surrounded and defeated by his enemy. Then his triumph was an imposter. His triumph was not real. He lost the battle eventually and ended his life in suicide.
Who said "Don't be so humble, you're not that great"?
I am reminded by of the quote by Golda Meir, "Don't be so humble; you're not that great."
Answer
poet calls triumph impostor because it makes us very happy and we may become overconfident and lose aur consistency.
Answer
The poet personifies "Triumph" and "Disaster" and calls them 2 impostors. Impostor are those who come in disguise and deceive you. He means to say that if we get carried away with triumph it would soon lead to a downfall (disaster). Similarly if we work hard after a disaster it would lead us to success (triumph).
What is the truth about triumph and disaster?
In this way, Kipling realized and immortalized the truth that triumph and disaster are two sides of the same coin. We must treat these two imposters the same because, ultimately, they are the same. The same potentiality. Every competition can go either way.
What is negative visualization?
Negative visualization is a way for us to keep our optimism bias in check. By thinking deeply about a negative outcome that is surely uncomfortable will disarm that negative outcome if it comes to pass. Disaster will then not feel so devastating if it shall occur.
What is the process of feeling defeat?
Thinkers like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca have suggested that we should become well acquainted with feelings of defeat and failure through a process called “ negative visualization .”. This is a process in which you imagine all the things that could go wrong.
What does Kipling say about the Wimbledon tournament?
There’s a reason that Kipling’s verse greets the competitors at Wimbledon before they step out onto the centre court. After the tournament one player will face triumph and the other disaster. One shall leave the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club a champion before the world. The other will not.
What happens if you can't keep your emotions in check?
If we can’t keep our victorious emotions in check, they can easily go to our heads and hurt our competitive drive in the future. Think about it: you won’t try as hard in your next match if you’ve become so accustomed to victory that it’s to be expected, would you?
Who wrote "If-"?
Triumph and Disaster: Treat Those Two Imposters the Same. In 1895, the Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling composed the poem “If-,” which later went on to become one of the most popular poems in Great Britain. And treat those two impostors just the same.
Can we let triumph or disaster become rigid expectations for our performances?
In the end, we can’t let either triumph or disaster become rigid expectations for our performances. It’s equally dangerous to expect every match to end in failure than victory.
What if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you?
If— Rudyard Kipling 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 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 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!
What if Kipling wrote?
Kipling writes, “If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you…” In this first “if” scenario, Kipling reminds the reader of the importance of maintaining a level head even when those around the reader do not have one and are blaming the situation on the reader. It should be noted here that the reader soon realizes the poem is really one long sentence. The poem ends on a particularly high note, which Kipling emphasizes with his use of an exclamation point.
How many lines are in Rudyard Kipling's poem?
Rudyard Kipling separates his poem into four stanzas of equal length, all of which contain eight lines. Each stanza has a set rhyme scheme of ababcdcd, with the exception of the first stanza, which has the following rhyme scheme: aaaabcbc.
How old was Rudyard Kipling when he started writing?
Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India, in December of 1865. As a boy, he took pleasure in the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Wilkie Collins. He was around eleven years old when he first started writing. Kipling’s best-known work, The Jungle Book, was published in the late 1890s. Kipling’s life took a tragic turn in the 1930s with the death of his second child.
What does Kipling say about the if-then scenario?
Kipling leaves the “then” until the final two lines, revealing to the reader that if he or she is able to do all that was just mentioned, he or she will not only have the world at his or her fingertips, but he or she will also be a “Man.”.
What does Kipling say about trusting yourself?
Kipling writes, “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, / But make allowance for their doubting too […]” Here, the speaker emphasizes two traits that all people must possess: self-trust and the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, even if that means understanding that people will not always like or agree with you. The final four lines of the first stanza flow together nicely, almost sounding as though they are one complete thought. Kipling writes:
What does Kipling say about making dreams your master?
Kipling writes, If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim, Here, Kipling urges his reader to dream and think but to not get so caught up in dreams and thoughts that the reader loses his grasp on reality. Kipling uses personification in his next two lines:
What is the poem "A Fool lies here who tried to hustle the East" about?
Among the higher reaches of the American officer class, a line from an obscure Kipling poem—“A Fool lies here who tried to hustle the East”—became a rallying cry for those opposed to the CIA coup that toppled the Diem regime in 1963 and intensified American involvement in the war.
What is Kipling's warning for our time?
But Kipling’s most insistent warning for our time may come from his moving cycle of poems “ Epitaphs of the War ,” published exactly one hundred years ago, after the shattering death of his son in World War I. One of his shortest poems, just two lines long, it imagines the young soldiers speaking from the grave.
What is the meaning of "if" in the poem?
It might surprise the poem’s many enthusiasts to learn that Kipling, who lived for several years in Vermont and built himself a tennis court there ( reputedly the first in the state), originally used “If—” as the epilogue to a story about George Washington and his resistance to public opinion.
Where did Mark Twain stop?
He traveled the length of the country, stopping in Elmira, New York, to pay tribute to his idol Mark Twain. He had a special fondness for Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose “Self-Reliance” was a major inspiration for “If—.”.
Who is Christopher Benfey?
Christopher Benfey is the Mellon Professor of English at Mount Holyoke. His latest book is IF: The Untold Story of Kipling’s American Years. (December 2021)
Who played the man who would be king?
Another powerful warning against American imperial overreach was John Huston’s great film The Man Who Would Be King (1975), based on a Kipling story about two foolish soldier-adventurers, played by Sean Connery and Michael Caine, who tried to hustle the East and came to horrendous grief in Afghanistan.
Did the Jungle Book appeal to American readers?
But Kipling’s writings have also appealed to American readers at times of national confusion and loss of direction.