What If

Chapter Summary

‘What If’ is a poem written by the famous poet Shel Silverstein. This poem is called a light as verses in this poem are some questions by the speaker and he presented them in the form of what ifs. He asked the question to himself and through this presents some doubts in his mind.

The night came and the speaker was lying on his bed he thinks of the previous night and at that time some what-ifs came into his mind. He can feel that the what-ifs are entering his head through his ears. The speaker assumes that the questions are pranced, partied, and as well sang their old songs. Therefore, shortly it can be said that the speaker here spent his whole night thinking about different absurd as well as possible imaginations. The imagination here can take place or it may not but the thoughts make the speaker worry. The announcer also shows his concerns about the students that fall under the category of the same age group as him. He sometimes becomes tense thinking about the matter that he can be treated as a stupid person in school or cannot be able in passing the examination. In this part, the orator also voices out some of the concerned faces that are shown by the young kids.

The speech provider here expresses his fear of being treated badly in the school as well as ignored by them. Another fear of the orator is that if his parents get divorced or one kept poison in his food. Therefore, it can be said that in this poem the speaker expresses his insecurities. It presents the doubt of the announcer if he will grow tall or not. The curious mind of the announcer also worried about the question that what will happen if he does not learn to dance.

Who is the speaker in the poem?

The poet Shel Silverstein himself is the speaker of the poem What If.

List out the happenings that the speaker is worried about

The speaker in the poem is worried about things as well as different happenings. The happenings include his fears of the mind and he thinks about what would happen if he is dumped in school. His tension goes to the matter that he can get troubled if he becomes confined to a swimming pool.

The orator expresses his fear through the words that he can be beaten up in school by his parents. Another point of worrying is coming out by his presentation of words like if poisons are added into his cups, or if he starts crying, as well as becoming sick, of failing in the test. The matter goes to the extreme that he thinks he can also die and what will happen then.

The childish thinking of the speaker also thinks about the matter of hair growth that is green in colour on his chest. He expresses his tension by saying What if my head starts getting smaller? The orator’s worry about the matter goes to the extent that he is tense about the matter of the divorce of his parents.

Why do you think the speaker has worries? How do you think the speaker can get rid of such worries?

The speaker is surrounded by worries at the time of night because his mind is free at that time. The speaker is not busy with any kind of thought at that time of midnight and that is the reason he is worried about those thoughts. There is a thought that speaks that the Idle mind is the devil's workshop and it leads the speaker to think about those matters that look worrisome as well as gathered around his mind.

Yes, those thoughts can be got rid of and for this, the speaker will have to engage his mind with some effective activities. The activities can be reading, dancing, playing games or other works.

“Some ‘What Ifs’ crawled inside my ear.” The poet is trying to make an image of what he experiences. List out some more images from the poem.

This is an image made by the speaker and the poem also presents some other images. It is seen that humans mainly think in terms of words. Some other images from the poem are poison in my cup, green hair grows on my chest, a bolt of lightning strikes me, my head starts getting smaller, my teeth don’t grow in straight. These all are examples of images presented in this poem and they give vivid images of the speaker’s fear.

Some other examples include the fear of failure the speaker in the test, being beaten by the teacher, the divorce of his parents, as well as his fear of not getting taller. These all prove the imaginative mind of the poet also in a skilful way.

FAQs

Q1. What does the word if mean in this poem?

Ans. This poem What If presents or reveals some insecurity of the kids and through the word if those insecurities are presented. Some of the insecurities include whether they would grow taller or their teeth would grow even.

Q2. What is the moral of the poem What If?

Ans. What If is a poem written by Shel Silverstein and it gives a moral. The moral mainly says that people should not worry about the things that may or may not happen. Instead of this, people should involve their time with fruitful works such as reading, as well as playing.