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“If—” consists of a single sentence that the speaker sustains across four eight-line stanzas. This sentence is structured as a conditional statement. Conditional statements have a two-part structure. The first part consists of the hypothesis, which uses the word “if” to posit some possible condition. The second part consists of the conclusion, which uses the word “then” to describe what would result if the proposed hypothesis were true. This two-part, “if–then” structure functions by building anticipation with the hypothesis, then resolving that tension with the conclusion. In this poem, Kipling amplifies the tension intrinsic to conditional statements by constructing the poem out of a series of parallel hypothetical statements and deferring the conclusion. Thus, rather than the basic two-part model of “If ____, then ____,” Kipling gives us something a bit more complicated: “If ____; if ____; and if ____, then ____.” The compounded series of “if” statements defers the revelation that the speaker is addressing his son. Because of this deferral, the poem effectively invites the reader to see themself as the surrogate addressee.

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