"If" is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling, a British author and poet who was born in India in 1865. The poem was first published in 1910 and has since become one of Kipling's most popular and enduring works. It has been widely anthologized and has been translated into many languages.
The structure of the poem is that of a series of conditional statements, each beginning with the word "if." Each statement presents a challenge or a difficult situation and then offers a solution or a way to overcome it. The poem is divided into four stanzas, each containing four lines. The rhyme scheme is AABB, with the exception of the final stanza, which has a rhyme scheme of ABAB.
The first stanza of the poem presents the first "if" statement: "If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you." Here, Kipling is saying that if you are able to remain calm and rational when others are panicking and blaming you for their problems, then you are a strong and capable person.
The second stanza presents another "if" statement: "If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you / But make allowance for their doubting too." This stanza suggests that if you are able to have confidence in your own abilities, even when others doubt you, and if you are able to understand that their doubts may come from a place of ignorance or fear, then you are a wise and understanding person.
The third stanza presents another "if" statement: "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." This stanza suggests that if you are able to be patient and not become discouraged when faced with delays or setbacks, and if you are able to handle being lied about or hated without resorting to lies or hatred yourself, then you are a virtuous and noble person.
The final stanza presents the final "if" statement: "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." This stanza suggests that if you are able to dream and not become obsessed with your dreams, if you are able to think and not become consumed by your thoughts, and if you are able to face both success and failure with the same level of detachment, then you are a true master of yourself.
In conclusion, the structure of Kipling's poem "If" is that of a series of conditional statements that offer challenges and solutions. Each stanza presents a new "if" statement and the poem as a whole encourages readers to strive for strength, wisdom, virtue, and self-mastery.