If By Rudyard Kipling - Analysis

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;   

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: 

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster 

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken 

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, 

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: 

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; 

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you 

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, 

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, 

    If all men count with you, but none too much; 

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!

Anaphora Grammatical Punctuation Other Than a Comma Juxtaposition

The poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling uses literary devices such as anaphora and juxtaposition along with the use of well placed punctuation to deliberately emphasis certain phrases and words to send a message across to the reader. 

The heavy use of anaphora is common in poems, but in "If" by Rudyard Kipling, the anaphora builds upon the author's message and emphasizes that you can achieve anything if you are able to follow your heart and ignore the negative influences around you. 

The punctuation of the stanzas also play a huge role in the structure of the poem. The multiple colons, semicolons, and dashes all serve as pauses to provide a rhythm to the poem and to increase the dramatic effect. The addition of the punctuation makes the poem flow evenly and provides further emphasis on the "If you can" phrase, which is already heavily spread out within the poem.
Juxtaposition is also used throughout the poem as a form of balance. Although usually used to showcase a contrast between characters, in this poem juxtaposition is used instead to create emphasis on the word "you".  In the first stanza, juxtaposition is used in the line "If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you", it highlights the word "you" and uses the contrast of "trust" and "doubt" to show that you must be strong enough to believe in yourself when others won't. 
By using several literary devices, Rudyard Kipling masterfully creates a flowing poem which speaks to the heart. "If" by Rudyard Kipling is about believing in yourself and taking that first step towards your goals. He heavily emphasizes tenacity and trust , and assures you that if you can accomplish all the difficulties that are laid out for you and overcome your hardships, "you'll be a Man, my son!". 

Answers By Elizabeth Jennings - Analysis

Why did you travel?
Because the house was cold.

Why did you travel?
Because it is what I have always done between sunset and sunrise.

What did you wear?
I wore a blue suit, a white shirt, yellow tie, and yellow socks.

What did you wear?
I wore nothing.
 A scarf of pain kept me warm.

Who did you sleep with?
I slept with a different woman each night.

Who did you sleep with?
I slept alone.
 I have always slept alone.

Why did you lie to me?
I always thought I told the truth.

Why did you lie to me?
Because the truth lies like nothing else and I love the truth.

Why are you going?
Because nothing means much to me anymore.

Why are you going?
I don't know.
 I have never known.

How long shall I wait for you?
Do not wait for me.
 I am tired and I want to lie down.

Are you tired and do you want to lie down?
Yes, I am tired and I want to lie down.

Anaphora              Repeated Sentences  

This poem created by Elizabeth Jennings uses anaphora and repetition of sentences to create the feeling of someone having an internal conflict with himself by repeatedly asking himself for the real answer to his own questions. 

Until the last two stanzas, every two stanzas from the top had the same question, but a different answer. I believe that the use of the repeating question resulting in a different answer means that the first answer is what he tells himself and those around him, but the second answer is how he really feels about himself.  In the first two stanzas, he answers at first that he left because "the house was cold", but later admits that he left because that is what he has always done everyday. In another part of the poem, he tells himself that he sleeps "with a different woman every night", but later admits that he has always been alone, even though he had been with all these different types of women. In the last two stanzas, the only questions which aren't repeated, he comes to terms with himself and is tired of lying to himself and tells the inner voice "I am tired and I want to lie down". 

The overall tone of this poem is somber, because it emanates loneliness. The man only leaves the house because that is what he has done everyday, not because he has a real reason to, and he always feels alone even though he sleeps with a different women every night. He is empty with no real purpose to work towards, and constantly lies to himself that everything is alright until he realizes that he's tired of lying to himself at the end. 

The repetition of sentences creates a sort of dialogue within the poem where the man is second guessing himself. The anaphora builds upon that dialogue, with the man responding to his own questions with differing answers. The shorter sentences make the poem seem more like the thought process of the man, and emphasize his inner conflict with himself. 

A Poison Tree By William Blake - Analysis

A Poison Tree By William Blake

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.                                Anaphora 
I was angry with my foe:                                               Juxtaposition
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I waterd it in fears
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it's shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole,
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretchd beneath the tree.



  The poem "A Poison Tree" by William Blake is about holding your feelings in. It shows what happens when you just let your anger out, and what happens when you let your anger and your hatred build up inside you for a while. The poem largely uses juxtaposition and anaphora, and since it is a poem, it obviously uses poetic diction. 
 The first stanza shows the beginning of what turns out to be a grisly murder. The main character lets his hate grow within him, and in the second stanza he "watered it in fears". I believe that means that he let his hate grow because of his own insecurities, and hid his anger from everyone around him.
  In the third stanza, the "apple" that our angry protagonist is talking about probably represents his murderous intent. He lets his intent to kill his enemy be known, which explains the "and my foe beheld it's shine, and he knew that it was mine". The fourth stanza's "and into my garden stole, when the night had veiled the pole" represents the foe coming to duel our protagonist to answer his threat. The poem ends with the foe lying dead beneath the "tree" which bore the apple, so I think the tree represents the protagonist himself, standing over his slain enemy.