Rudyard Kipling: Poems

Do you think the poet favors rash adventure? How?

Poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling

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No Kipling doesn't favour rash adventure rather he extolls patience and reflection over events and thoughts. THere are a few lines where he comments on the excitement of risk,

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

The excitement of risk is tempered with the sobering wisdom of not complaining if all is lost. On the whole Kipling celebrates the contemplative man,

"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim.."

Sober reflection is a life well lived rather than rash decisions.

"If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim" does he say this in negative sense, please explain.

All this means is that one needs to use thinking for the tool that it is and not the end result. Just thinking about a problem is not the aim. Thought should be a constructive tool to solve the problem rather than just thinking as the goal. Hope that makes sense, It's late!

So yes, if your focus is purely thought with no end in sight, that is negative.

thanks a lot for this explanation!!!

No worries!