Tuesday 20 March 2018

Poem "IF" by Rudyard Kipling

Definitely one of my favourite poems! Full of wisdom!

You've probably heard of this writer because he's the author of the very well-known book "The Jungle Book". He was born in Bombay and he won the Nobel Prize of literature in 1907.
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in English, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
 
Two lines of the poem are written on the entrance wall of the British tennis tournament Wimbledon. Can you guess which two lines they are?
The poem was read in a promotional video for the Wimbledon 2008 final by Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.

In the first video below you can read and listen to the poem by a very attractive voice. And the second one is Federer and Nadal's video. I hope you like them! 

I have also copied below a beautiful Spanish translation of the poem for you to enjoy it fully. 
Tell me what you think about it.What's your favourite line?











IF.....      

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!



"SI"

Si puedes conservar la cabeza cuando a tu alrededor
todos la pierden y te echan la culpa;
si puedes confiar en tí mismo cuando los demás dudan de tí,
pero al mismo tiempo tienes en cuenta su duda;
si puedes esperar y no cansarte de la espera,
o siendo engañado por los que te rodean, no pagar con mentiras,
o siendo odiado no dar cabida al odio,
y no obstante no parecer demasiado bueno, ni hablar con demasiada sabiduria...


Si puedes soñar y no dejar que los sueños te dominen;
si puedes pensar y no hacer de los pensamientos tu objetivo;
si puedes encontrarte con el triunfo y el fracaso (desastre)
y tratar a estos dos impostores de la misma manera;
si puedes soportar el escuchar la verdad que has dicho:
tergiversada por bribones para hacer una trampa para los necios,
o contemplar destrozadas las cosas a las que habías dedicado tu vida
y agacharte y reconstruirlas con las herramientas desgastadas...

Si puedes hacer un hato con todos tus triunfos
y arriesgarlo todo de una vez a una sola carta,
y perder, y comenzar de nuevo por el principio
y no dejar de escapar nunca una palabra sobre tu pérdida;
y si puedes obligar a tu corazón, a tus nervios y a tus músculos
a servirte en tu camino mucho después de que hayan perdido su fuerza,
excepto La Voluntad que les dice "!Continuad!".


Si puedes hablar con la multitud y perseverar en la virtud
o caminar entre Reyes y no cambiar tu manera de ser;
si ni los enemigos ni los buenos amigos pueden dañarte,
si todos los hombres cuentan contigo pero ninguno demasiado;
si puedes emplear el inexorable minuto
recorriendo una distancia que valga los sesenta segundos
tuya es la Tierra y todo lo que hay en ella,
y lo que es más, serás un hombre, hijo mío.





1 comment:

Mireia said...

I loved it! I have two favorite lines. "Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools", and "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch".

The first because a lot of people in the world have to do this in their life. For example with the natural disasters, like in Haiti. The people have to build their houses again, and this is terrible, but they are doing and they are press forward

And the second, because too people should do the same.

Thank you for share teacher!