If is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling, a famous novelist of the 19th century, to his son. The poet gives son a series of advice and precepts, that allow him to become wise, persevering, modest, patient, imaginative, honest, authoritative and self-confident. The poem compares and contrasts the right and wrong decisions thant one person can make in his journey to adulthood. It is about what you must know and be able to do to be a grown-up.                                                                                                                                    The teaching is very considerable: resisting external events and being emotionless to everyone and everything to be only yourself and to prove your worth. You must trust yourself and never appear better or wiser than you are, tell the truth and never give way to hate. You must never give up your projects and always live life to the full. You have to have fun and carry out new experiences. Follow your dreams but be realistic: you are master of yourself. You must be prepared to risk in life because not everything will be always easy. Facing difficulties is symbol of maturity. The problems will not always be a success, but sometimes they will be a real failure. Don’t lose heart, but face triumph and disaster in the same way.                                                                                                                     In my opinion the poem is less personal and private than a letter and for this reason it can be reported to everyone. Only in the last line, indeed, the writer mentions his son, whose the text is dedicated, while if he had written a letter he would have mentioned it first of all, with “My dear son”. In If there are figures of speech, such as metaphors, anaphors and antithesises, which letters usually does not have. Kipling gives advice to everybody on how to behave a boy to become a man.