3. Introduction

"Whatif" is a poem written by Shel Silverstein. It is taken from his collection of poetry called "A Light in the Attic" (\(1981\)). The book contains more than a hundred poems for children. The book also contains illustrations created by the author.

 

'What if' is typically a question, meaning 'what could/would happen'. According to the Cambridge dictionary, what if is "used to ask about something that could happen in the future, especially something bad".

 

The speaker of the poem asks (to himself) a series of questions beginning with a 'what if'. However, unlike the accepted spelling, the phrase 'what if' is used as a single word-'whatif'-without a space in the poem.

 

As far as the style of the poem is concerned, "Whatif" follows the tradition of the light verse. The poem is humorous, short, and the subject is very light, easy to understand, and frivolous in nature.