Thursday, November 13, 2014

In the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling, what does the poet mean by a perfect man?

Kipling's speaker in this poem lists many of the qualities valued among British men during the Victorian period. Some of these qualities include keeping one's cool even when everyone else is losing his own, trusting one's self even when no one else does, and risking all one's winnings in a single desperate bet. Clearly, self confidence was a part of being "a perfect man" in this society. Additionally, the speaker mentions that, having lost his single desperate bet, the "perfect man" would "never breathe a word about [his] loss" and start over again. He would also treat "triumph and disaster...just the same." Therefore, it is also clear that "a perfect man" is a stoic he accepts wins and losses without emotional display.

No comments:

Post a Comment