Student Question
What impression of the poet does the line "And never breathe a word about your loss" in 'If—' give you?
Quick answer:
The line "And never breathe a word about your loss" in Kipling's "If—" suggests that the poet values courage and perseverance. Kipling emphasizes the importance of resilience and the ability to start anew without dwelling on past failures. This advice reflects his belief in focusing on future opportunities rather than losses, portraying him as someone who learns from mistakes and remains forward-looking.
In the poem "If," Rudyard Kipling provides guidance in how to become a man, or more universally, how each person can truly live the live he or she has been given. Throughout the poem, Kipling speaks to an unnamed "you." At the end, he directs the words to "my son," but it's unclear whether he's speaking to his own biological son or a more general "son" of mankind. The advice throughout the poem is practical advice for anyone.
In order to understand this particular line, the reader must back up to the beginning of the stanza:
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 speaker, who is presumably Kipling's own voice, imagines those situations in life when you risk it all. Another adage...
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commonly used is "putting all your eggs in one basket." These are the moments when youthink you know the direction to take, and you risk everything on this opportunity.
And then, sometimes, you lose.
Kipling says that when this happens, you should simply start back at the beginning and "never breathe a word about your loss." The loss isn't important. The courage to start again and to find another path or a different opportunity is what you should focus on.
From this, the reader can surmise that Kipling is a man of courage and perseverance, always ready to learn from his mistakes and always looking forward and not backward, moving on to the next opportunity in life.