Quiz: The Poem 'IF'

I have obtained a worksheet on the poem "IF" from the former DELC of Jasin for use in the classroom.

Hope you'll find it useful for class use.

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The IF Quiz

1. How many repetitions of ‘you’ are there in this poem?

2. Who are YOU? - are you the ‘you’ in the poem? Why, or why not?

3. What gender is the person who is speaking in the poem?

4. Make a list of all the words which begin with a capital letter - why do they begin like this?

5. How far can you run in sixty seconds?! A clue: average human running speed = 15 miles per hour

The IF Quiz Answers

1. How many repetitions of ‘you’ are there in this poem?

(There are 20 repetitions of ‘you’)

2. Who are YOU? - are you the ‘you’ in the poem? Why, or why not?

(You may feel you are NOT the ‘you’ in the poem if you are female, because it says ‘you’ll be a Man, my son’ at the end - or you may feel you ARE the ‘you’ In the poem if you think the advice is good for you!)

3. What gender is the person who is speaking in the poem?

(We do not know! - The poet was male, and the picture is male - but in fact, it could be a woman speaking. We do know it is a father or mother, because the person says ‘my son’)

4. Make a list of all the words which begin with a capital letter - why do they begin like this?

(Triumph, Disaster, Will, Kings, Earth, Man - Triumph, Disaster, and Will

Are all personifications of abstract situations and feelings; Kings are important people in the world; there is only one Earth and it is also important. The whole poem is about Kipling’s view of what a man is - not just a human being, or only a male, but somebody who is strong, sensible, brave, and communicative.

5. How far can you run in sixty seconds?!

Maurice Greene’s top speed is 27 miles per hour; he won the 100 metres race in 9.79 seconds.

Average speed for human running = 15 miles per hour.

So – you can probably run ¼ mile in one minute! - find out what this is in kilometres!)