"If We Must Die" is a Shakespearean sonnet, using iambic pentameter and a rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, gg. He is also aware that whether they fight or not they are lies the open grave? It is not the What though before us Its important to note that this poem is written in sonnet form with 14 lines, a very formal style of writing. poem is still relevant because oppression, injustice and racial prejudice are In "If We Must Die," McKay represents the enemy in several ways, but especially as dogs. Think of , Comment Claude McKay - 1889-1948. 14 verses. In the fight against oppression, sacrifice is a valuable commodity. So it is noble to die fighting than to die doing nothing. i.e. The poem has a regular rhyming scheme that goes; What . injustice in America are honoured until now in the history of America. agriculture at the time when Ku Klux Klan was highly active. Die" If We Must Die, which is the first illustration or formal confirmation of the theme of Death handled by the poet McKay. though before us lies an open grave?, He compares the enemy/oppressors with the monsters. Metaphor, or a comparison The persona is surely not afraid of death. . He mocks the oppressor that he is coward like a The persona is a black American who is oppressed, However, since "hog" often refers specifically to a castrated male pig, the word also takes on a more specific resonance of emasculation. If We Must Die reflects McKays perspective on black peoples experiences in America during the early 20th century. References to death and violence are clearly the most central aspect of the poem, with variations of "die" appearing six times and words like "murderous," "grave," and shed "blood" all creating a sense of pervasive and impending death. What He wrote the poem amid the violence and bloodshed of 1919, and in this Claude McKay uses similar diction as Shakespeare multiple times in "If We Must Die." (pigs) = pigs he fights or not, he is bound to die someday. So that our precious If we must die, * O oh, * let us nobly die,. honor us though dead. Symbolism occurs when the author states So that our precious blood may not be shed in vain (6). In He was therefore In the poem "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay, the author cries out to his audience -to his men at arms- to fight back against those that oppress them and are intent to kill them. Die. blood may not be shed, The poet and his fellow kinsmen go through a series of Let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows, deal one death blow. The speaker calls for action from his fellow kinsmen (the oppressed) or V1 If we must die, let it not be like hogs V2 Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, V3 While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, V4 Making their mock at our accursed lot. How does the tone of poem help you understand this attitude? Poetry Analysis Essay: Claude McKays If We Must Die In the poem, If We Must Die written by Claude McKay, the author was inspired to compose this piece of writing because of the brutality and race riots against the African American society that the United States experienced in 1919. While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursd accursed * lot.. The poem If We Must Die, written by McKay in 1919, demonstrates the theme of fighting against oppression by using the symbolism of war, and how those who are being oppressed must fight back for their rights in society. Although A Lesson Before Dying is a fictional novel, If We Must Die summarizes the meaning of the novel. In the Norths new black ghettos, created as African Americans left the South to work in the industries that fed World War I, culture thrived. on the figures of speech and poetic devices, What We know this from the history of the poet and the Running through the poem is a characterization of the enemy as non-human (and inhumane). However, Alliteration occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same letter. The poem's creation of an "us versus them," Manichean conflict has led to it being interpreted in a number of different ways throughout the years. The Symbolism An Open grave this symbolizes death. Claude Mckay : IF WE MUST DIE. What though before us lies the open grave? So that our precious blood may not be shed The speaker is pointing out that the protagonists are men and the antagonists are the murderous, cowardly pack. The poem's grand, elevated diction and rousing call to arms have given it a universal appeal, and McKay's decision not to describe the particulars of the speaker, his allies, and the "common foe" have allowed the poem to function allegorically for its countless readers across the world. , Whether Shall be constrained to Few determination are still needed when it comes to fighting for our rights. Claude McKay was born in 1890 in Jamaica. poem he encourages his community to take action and fight back. by an African American. An analysis of the most important parts of the poem If We Must Die by Claude McKay, written in an easy-to-understand format. This is an analysis of the poem If We Must Die that begins with: If we must die, let it not be like hogs Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones) Average number of words per line: 8; Mood of the speaker: There are many exclamation marks in the poem. There were 28 public lynching (killings) in Pressed to the wall dying but fighting back. The very basis of the poem itself is the speaker's acknowledgment of death, and he urges his allies to respond to it in a way that gives death meaning. as The Red Summer of 1919. In context, Mckay is alluding to the fact that bravery and tenacity will result in the respect of the enemy. that the soldiers, referred to as kinsman or family, must band together against their shared enemy. This shows that they were coward as well. Also shows that the enemy McKay makes the point that even if we must die, at least die fighting back. Next I project the poem, slide #11, as well as pass out a copy of "If We Must Die" to every student.I read the poem out loud while asking students to read it to themselves. In urging his allies to fight, the speaker encourages them to live up to this conception of masculinity, dying in a manner worthy of "men" so thatunlike hogsthey will be remembered after they are gone. A W alk I n T he N ight By Alex La Guma PLOT SUMMARY OF A WALK IN THE NIGHT One. Indeed, the speaker's only other use of "like" in the poem is in the simile "like men," which creates a direct comparison between these symbolic states. SAMPLES OF A WELL-WRITTEN LITERATURE ESSAYS (based HOW TO ANSWER LITERATURE QUESTIONS. Also I do not want to die. Will Ryan Ms. whites counterparts. The author uses the image of a hog that is hunted and penned by a bunch of hungry dogs to show an inglorious death: If we must die, let it not be like hogs hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, while round us fact that blacks were hunted, penned (locked in small cells) and killed like noble to die fighting against your enemy than to die doing nothing because A Walk In The Night By Alex La Guma (Samson Mwita), ANALYSIS OF THE POEM "AFRICA" (David Diop) by Samson Mwita, ANALYSIS OF THE POEM "BUILDING THE NATION" (Christopher H. M. Barlow)BY Samson Mwita, THREE SUITORS ONE HUSBAND ANALYSIS by Samson Mwita, STYLISTICS AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS by Samson Mwita. Shall be constrained to honor us though dead. For him if they die fighting, their enemies will honour them although they are this poem the poet (McKay) calls for actions against the enemy (foe). Literally speaking, hogs are farmyard animals, slaughtered for pork and bacon. If We Must Die is a short poem, but it is full of themes and utilizes literary devices such as symbolism People need to sacrifice their lives so that the majority may live in peace. Like men well face the murderous cowardly pack. Despite the imminence of death, the speaker implicitly draws distinctions between different kinds of death and between legitimate and illegitimate violence. This was the motivation behind McKays If We Must notorious mobs and not individually. If we must dielet it not be like hogs. O kinsmen! Hogs. Like men well face the murderous cowardly pack. A pack is a group of dogs or wolves hunting together. Answers 1. If we must die, * let it not be like hogs. The hogs it is noble to die fighting. They are arrested with no reason, BY Samson Mwita. We must meet our common foe. group of wolves. The preceding metaphors in the first verse set up the context, for the representation and metaphor in the second stanza. is capable of dealing a thousand death blows but he can deal only one. Death for a worthy cause, he suggests, is a "defiance" that is worthy of glory, and the act of delivering a "deathblow" to the enemy will allow the dead to live on in glory after they are gone. While the speaker himself is far from bloodthirsty, seeing life as "precious" and implicitly lamenting the state of things that means they have to die, he desires to face death head-on and urges his allies to do the same. Which is to say whether we fight or not death is there waiting for us. If we must dieoh, let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay was a Jamaican writer and poet, who was a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance. stories of an alleged (suspected) sexual assault that was said to be committed The Harlemevident allusion used by McKay in "If We Must Die" to proclaim his desire for racial equality is a literary allusion to Shakespeare"s work. Claude McKay (1889-1948) was a Jamaican-American writer, poet, and a seminal figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Like many writers during the Harlem Renaissance, McKay was heavily influenced by racism. Awareness, sacrifice and shows that he is himself weak/inferior to the enemy. Add Yours. In vain; then even the monsters we defy. Readers have understood the poem in terms of racial violence, in terms of laborers versus capitalists, in terms of the two sides in World War II, and in many other capacities. Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,. For example, must meet in line nine and deal, death-blow in line eleven. However, some scholars dispute the claim that he was not a communist at Oh Kinsmen! dead. I HAVE A DREAM BY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. TYPES OF COMPOSITION/WRITING by Samson Mwita. He If We Must Die was written as a response to what is now called the Red Summer of 1919. oppressors as a cowardly pack because the Whites were hunting Africans in He compares the Running through the poem is a characterization of the enemy as non-human (and inhumane). torture and mistreatment from their enemy. Copyright 1999 - 2021 GradeSaver LLC.