🔵 1. “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:”
(a) Name the poem and the poet. (2)
(b) What does “keep your head” mean? (1)
(c) What should one do when others doubt them? (1)
🟣 2. “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”
(a) What quality is required while waiting? (1)
(b) How should one respond to lies? (1)
(c) What attitude should one adopt when hated by others? (2)
🟢 3. “If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,”
(a) What does the poet say about dreams? (1)
(b) What warning does he give about thoughts? (1)
(c) What is the central idea conveyed through these lines? (2)
🟠 4. “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:”
(a) What do “Triumph” and “Disaster” represent? (1)
(b) Why are they called “two impostors”? (2)
(c) Identify the poetic device used in these lines. (1)
🔴 5. “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”
(a) What does “pitch-and-toss” symbolise? (1)
(b) What should one do after losing everything? (1)
(c) What qualities are emphasised in these lines? (2)
🟡 6. “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!”
(a) Why is the minute called “unforgiving”? (1)
(b) What does “sixty seconds’ worth of distance run” mean? (1)
(c) What will the son achieve if he fulfils all the conditions? (2)
Answers
🔵 1.
(a) The poem is “If”, written by Rudyard Kipling.
(b) “Keep your head” means to remain calm and think clearly during a difficult situation.
(c) One should trust oneself while also considering whether the doubts of others are reasonable.
🟣 2.
(a) One should remain patient and wait without becoming tired or frustrated.
(b) One should remain truthful and should not respond to lies with lies.
(c) When hated by others, one should not give way to hatred. One must maintain self-control and respond without bitterness.
🟢 3.
(a) The poet says that we should have dreams but should not allow them to control our lives.
(b) We should think deeply, but thoughts alone should not become our final aim. They must lead to action.
(c) The lines teach that dreams and thoughts are valuable only when they are controlled by reason and transformed into purposeful action.
🟠 4.
(a) “Triumph” and “Disaster” represent success and failure.
(b) They are called “two impostors” because both are temporary and deceptive. Success may create pride, while failure may cause despair.
(c) The poetic device used is personification. Triumph and Disaster are presented as human impostors.
🔴 5.
(a) “Pitch-and-toss” symbolises the risks and uncertainties of life.
(b) After losing everything, one should return to the beginning and make a fresh start without complaining.
(c) The lines emphasise courage, risk-taking, resilience, silent endurance and the ability to begin again after failure.
🟡 6.
(a) The minute is called “unforgiving” because time never stops, waits or returns.
(b) It means that every second of life should be filled with meaningful and productive effort.
(c) The son will gain the world and everything in it. More importantly, he will become a mature, responsible and noble human being.
[Note Capsule Notes Extract Questions Storyboards Essays Paragraph Questions Stanza-wise Analysis Malayalam Summary][Prepared By Sindhu P,HSST English,GGHSS Kallai]