‘If’ and ‘Vitai Lampada’ Essay
The poem “If-“ is about making possibilities into realities. A good example of this is a boy turning into a man, with the father making a guide to success. "If-" contains a multitude of characteristics deemed essential to the ideal man. They almost all express stoicism and reserve – the classic British "stiff upper lip." It is a didactic poem in the form of a dramatic monologue from the father. The three main ideas behind the poem defining a man are: Patience, Determination and risk-taking. The poem was written in 1895 by Rudyard Kipling, the same time as the Jameson Raid happened in South Africa against Paul Kruger’s Transvaal republic. He states in his 1937 autobiography that this war was the main drive behind writing this poem. We can infer from this that the poem was written as a form of hope after the British failed they’re raid against the Boers.
The first theme I will be discussing is patience. The father provides didactic advice to his son to encourage him to remain patient: “If you can keep your head when all about you/Are losing theirs and blaming it on you” Kipling uses the second person pronoun to direct his monologue to the audience in question, his son. The poet asks us to patiently wait for our efforts to reach fruition because all good things take time: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.
Here, patience is both taken as patience with others and with the world at large. True understanding is patience, and with dealing with others in the correct manner. The negativity of "hate" and "lying" are rejected fully by those who would seek to view the ways of the world from an open way of thinking. At the close of the poem the narrator warns though against the error of arrogance with such self-confidence and wisdom.

The ‘never-give-up’ outlook towards life and determination is another major theme of the poem. The poet asks us to keep striving towards our goals, against all odds, even if it involves putting all of our life’s achievements at stake. Shall we lose all we have while trying to get ahead in life, we must not back down but muster enough will power and determination to start again from scratch.
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
The attitude of never giving up and working hard certainly could be read as an element of the conservative technique, however the determination and message of striving is there for all to adhere to regardless of political vision. It is also much more than the technique of a continuation in the face of adversity, it is about the way this is done and never breathing "a word about your loss" shows the utmost element of self-dignity.

The poem often showcases life as a gamble in which all our achievements might get washed away. The poet wants us to be willing to take that risk in life as it will bring us closer to our final goals in life. This is shown by:
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;
“Pitch-and-toss”: a gambling game in which players compete to toss coins as close to a wall as possible without hitting it. Winner collects the losers' coins. These lines describe a man having the boldness to cast away all he has worked for in a lifetime on a risky opportunity. The deeper meaning could be that all of these “winnings” (i.e. money) are not as important as having the attributes described in the poem as a whole.
“Vitai Lampada” is a poem that was written in 1892 and is about a school boy, a future solider and his commitments to being captain of the cricket team at the school where Newbolt himself attended, Clifton College. Extremely respectable, Newbolt was a lawyer, novelist, playwright and magazine editor. He was also a skilled poet and “Vitai Lampada” is the perfect example of his marvelous work. The poem sees the tribulations at school as training for the real world and the honour of being a sound, praiseworthy and responsible male is the same in cricket as it is in on the Battlefield of Life however distant the two experiences are. Newbolt even makes this explicit 'England's far, and Honour a name', but you still have to do your best and be true to you upbringing and culture. This is shown by, “the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks: “Play up! Play up! And play the game!” The poem is about being as true to your British culture and values in life and death as you were at school on the cricket pitch. Life is a game with two sides and school teaches you essential skills to “win the game”.
Both poems share a didactic purpose, teaching young males the importance of transferring skills from your childhood into skills that can be used in your adulthood. They share experiences of patience, determination and risk-taking. They were both written at the same time when Britain were fighting in Colonial Africa. Both poems have the same structure and some connotations of death. Childish ideas are key points in both poems, which have underlying adult messages for later life. The final similarity between these two poems is that they both have colloquial messages about living life to the full.