Up board solutions for class 11 english poetry chapter 8 IF explanation and central idea

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Up board solutions for class 11 english poetry chapter 8 IF explanation and central idea

Up board solutions for class 11 english poetry chapter 8 IF

Explain the following stanzas with reference to the context:

(i) If you can keep ………………………………………………….. their doubting too.

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling. The poet is pointing the qualities to become a good human being and succeed in life.

Explanation: We should not lose our temperament even if others are blaming us for their fault. To be a good human being and to succeed in life, we should keep calm when other people around us are losing their cool. Losing the temper does not solve a problem and keeping patience makes us think wisely to face those tough situations, and finally you will find a solution. We should have the faith in ourselves, even when others doubt us. But after that, we should give some importance to their doubt too and try to find out what may be the reason for their suspicion. So, By keeping faith in ourselves we make sure that we don’t get demoralized or disheartened. And, by allowing others’ doubt a little space of thought, we ensure that we are not doing something wrong knowingly or unknowingly.

2- If you can wait ……………………………………. too wise.

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling The poet is pointing at qualities like hard work to be successful in life.

Explanation: We should work hard and wait for the result patiently. We should not get tired by waiting for a positive response. There are a number of examples in real life where people miss big opportunities only by losing their patience. Moreover, the proverb “Hurry will bury you,” teaches that, we should have patience. People may lie about us to others, but we should not indulge ourselves in lies and should always remain touthful. If we are mislead or tempted to lie, people would ultimately discover the truth and will never believe us anymore. So, its important to speak the truth even if that hurts us.

People may show their hatred towards us, yet we should not hate them. We should show our love and respect to others. No man or woman is perfect in this world. Everyone has his strengths and weaknesses. We have to accept that and respect them for the good qualities in them. We should not pretend as a good person or talk too wisely with common people, even after possessing such qualities. Because after acquiring all these good qualities, people generally feel proud, boastful and tend to show off how good they are. But, the poet warns us not to do so. If we do this, others would feel uncomfortable in our company and avoid us. Moreover others may try to prove us wrong at any cost, leading to an unhealthy competition.

३- If you can dream ………………………………..……….. just the same.

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling The poet is telling the importance of dreams and face both joy and sorrow with similar treatment.

Explanation: To do something bigger, we should dream first. But we should not to be guided by unrealistic dreams. If dreams take the driver’s seat, we would get detached from reality and eventually fail. We should dream to reach great heights in life, but keeping the reality in mind. We should be able to think over a matter, but should not make the thoughts our aim. So, our thinking should not be misleading us and should not detached us away from the large. Life is a combination of success and failure, joy and sorrow, good times and bad times. We should accept both and face both situations with similar treatment. The poet personifies Triumph and Disaster, and calls them ‘two imposters’. People become too happy in success and this reduces our chances to reach higher goals. Again, at bad times, if we are too grieved, we may lose our faith and confidence. In both cases, our regular course of work is hampered. That is why the poet calls triumph and disaster ‘two imposters’. He asks us to treat those deceivers similarly, with a smiling face. In short, we should not be too happy or too sad under any circumstances.

4- If you can bear ………………………………………………worn-out tools.

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling The poet is telling the importance of patience, tolerance and mental toughness.

Explanation: We have to bear the tough situations where we see that our speech or statement is distorted by someone to befool others. Very often we see that people misinterpret or even deliberately distort our words to use it in their favour. We should not lose our temper hearing that. Rather we should tolerate that, ensuring we have spoken the truth. We should be clam and patience even after seeing that our favourite thing that we built with all our effort and time is broken. Then we have to pick up the scattered parts and build it all over again. This is another key to getting to the top of the world, according to the poet. To keep our cool is not easy in such a situation. But patience and the mental toughness would help us build them again.

5- If you can make one …………………………………………………. about your loss.

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling. The poet is telling that sometime we should take risk to achieve much greater success but if we loose then stay calm without uttering a word about that loss and rebuild.

Explanation: We should be able to accumulate all we have and take a risk in one turn of the game of pitch-and-toss. We may lose the game and all our possessions. But we have to stay calm without uttering a word about that loss and rebuilt it from the beginning. Here the poet talks about the capability of taking big risks to achieve much greater success and keeping quiet even if we lose the bet. This is yet another aspect of our mental toughness that we need to possess.

6- If you can force ……………………………………………….. “Hold on!”

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling The poet continues the same theme of mental strength and the power of Will.

Explanation: We have to force our body (heart and nerve) to serve us even after it has lost the strength due to old age or illness. Thus we should keep on working driven by the strong “Will power” which would keep us to ‘hold on’ compelling us to do our job. If we want to do something great from our heart, the Will inside us would prevent the body from getting tired and hopeless. Indeed, there goes a proverb, “Where there is a Will there is a way.”

7- If you can talk ……………………………………………………. too much.

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling The poet tells us that we should built healthy relationship with people form every class of the society and how this will help us.

Explanation: We should stay in touch with people from every class of the society. We should be able to talk with common mass without losing our virtue or moral values. Again, we should be able to walk with kings without going beyond the reach of the common people. The common touch would help us realize the reality and feel the needs of the society. On the other hand, the noble touch would give us the power and opportunity to reach higher goals. We should build ourselves strong enough, mentally and physically, so that neither enemies nor loving friends can hurt us. Moreover, we should develop healthy relationship with everyone around us, and should not allow anyone to harm us. We have to develop our personality the right way, so that everyone supports us. Ifwe allow someone to give us too much importance, we may be emotionally bound. That may restrict our freedom and prevent us from doing our duty.

Up board solutions for class 11 English poetry chapter 7 Our Casuarina Tree

(viii) If you can fill …………………………………………………… my son!

Reference to context: These lines have been taken from the poem “If” composed by Rudyard Kipling. In these lines the poet is telling the importance of time.

Explanation: Time is precious and it (minute) is here called unforgiving, as it wait for none and doesn’t forgive him who wastes it. We should utilize every minute of our life in productive work. Wasting time is not something we can afford in our short lifespan. We can win this earth and everything in it. We can go to top of the world and rule over everything. We would be a complete and perfect human being. We should not forget that the poet wrote this poem for his son, as it is addressed in the very last line. The poet wanted to show his son the right way to be a future leader. But it has inspired many a man in their journey of life on earth so far.

2- Write the central idea of the poem ‘If’.

Ans: The central idea of the poem ‘If’ the composed by Rudyard Kipling is that success comes from self control and a true sense of the values of the things. Although in extremes danger lies. Aman must not lose heart because of doubts and opposition. He must not be deceived into thinking either triumph or disaster. He will be considered a real man only if he has all the virtues described in the poem. He should have qualities of the head and the heart such as self reliance and ambition. He should have great strength and courage. He should have will power. And he should have self-control.

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