If Group

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tassu09
tassu09
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What does the poet of "If" mean by the third stanza's first two lines?

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Posted by tassu09 on Tuesday November 10, 2009 at 11:33 PM and tagged with if, lines 1-2, third stanza.

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  1. akannan Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    The overall theme of Kipling's work is to stress the idea of individual responsibility and personal maturation.  This can be seen in the first two lines of the third stanza.  When the speaker articulates the idea of, "If you can make one heap of all your winnings/ And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss," the suggestion is that personal accountability and maturation is achieved if individuals feel so strong about their beliefs that they can sacrifice whatever they possess in the name of such notions.  The idea here is being able to not cling to external elements and rather focus on the idea of personal creed and belief.   This is explained further in the subsequent two lines, where the speaker articulates power and growth as being evident if there is no feeling of remorse about loss when personal belief has been honored or defended.

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    Posted by akannan on Wednesday November 11, 2009 at 3:58 AM