Poem By Rudyard Kipling example essay topic
Not too many pieces have been written that may illustrate the many adaptations that a person may go through as they come of age, however one piece of poetry by Rudyard Kipling does describe the values and qualities that would be present in an individual that has come of age. The poem gives a two-sided look at feelings, emotions and events in a way that shows what some would be like when they have come of age and what they would be like if they haven't. This particular poem takes the shape of the author including an introduction with the words saying. "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, These five lines see the poem dive strait in with a powerful beginning. The things suggested by the reader are not of past experience, they are more convincing the reader that if they perform these acts in the way outlined then they are a person that has come of age. It makes the reader think about themselves as an individual being and the way they treat others and the way others treat them.
The first 5 lines raise a lot of questions to the reader and make them think about what they are like compared to the poem. The poem draws on individual feelings towards a set text and that's what makes it powerful as it draws emotions. As the poem develops it adds more and more characteristics of someone who has come of age. Lines such as "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same"; also suggest that the poem is in a way a motivational tool to help people come to terms with themselves and how they deal with situations. It is encouraging people to come of age and treat the disappointments in life with the same poise as they accept the happiness.
The poem tugs hard at all emotions involved and really questions ones worthiness and in ways can make them a better person as they realise what it is like to come of ages so that they strive to become a better person, more mature and knowledgeable. In the final verse of the poem the author finishes with some powerful words that reiterate what has already been said. The last 4 lines say "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! These are probably the most powerful words that an individual can hear. With so much negativity and hatred surrounding people's everyday life, individually people lose sight of the bigger goals. They get stuck in the bad patches of life and without motivation they lose focus.
Its words like this in a simple poem that can sometimes be the best cure. The last lines are suggesting that no minute is wasted and that someone who has come of age and matured will realise that and never waste a minute of their lives. Overall the poem by Rudyard Kipling is a very relevant one to the topic of coming of age. At first glance it may just be seen as a motivational poem and one that encourages the reader not to give up, but when it is taken in and analysed the reader can appreciate this poem for far more than that and can take its contents as a way of judging the never important task involved with coming of age.