"If" is a poem by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling it was written in 1895 and was first published in Rewards and Fairies in 1910. It is a tribute to Leander Starr Jameson. The poem is written in the form of paternal advice to the poet's son. ‘If’ was written by Rudyard Kipling, uses the repetition of the word ‘if’ several times in each stanza. The poem consisting of four stanzas each with eight lines. This poem is also written beautifully using rhyme.This poem translates to a father explaining the qualities and virtues to become a true man to his son.

In the first stanza the poet begins listing important qualities, these qualities include; patience, confidence, trustworthiness and integrity. In this stanza Kipling uses an A,A,B,B,C,C,D,D rhyme scheme. This means the first and third lines rhyme, the second and fourth, etc. In lines 1 and 2: "To lose one's head" is a metaphor for going crazy, completely losing it, and it's a pretty common thing
This is a free verse stanza and the poet uses an A,B,A,B,C,D,C,D rhyme scheme. In lines 11 and 12: "Triumph and Disaster" represents personification. Triumph and Disaster aren't people, and they aren't really impostors, but both success and failures are dangerous. It can be really easy to get carried away by the emotions they cause. Kipling writes “A truth isn't literally "twisted," so this is a metaphor for people mistaking one's words in order to deceive, or "trap," others ("trap" being another metaphor). Some things might be literally "broken," but this could also just be a metaphor for things changing, not going as planned, and completely imploding.

In the third stanza Rudyard introduces the qualities of taking chances, he uses the game of pitch and toss and explains even if you loss and yet are able to continue with no sign of being phased. The trait of keeping a promise was introduced by the poet in the lines: ‘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”. The rhyme scheme he uses in this stanza is A,B,A,B.

In the final stanza he introduces the virtues of being humble as a trait to becoming a