It was … Indeed, the sense of impending death is the poem's sine qua non, and while the speaker clearly has no morbid desire for death for death's... what does mean "what thought before us lies the open grave. tone for "If We Must Die." If We Must Die study guide contains a biography of Claude McKay, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. With honor and masculinity … The Poem “If We Must Die”, by Claude Mckay portrays the deep feelings felt during the conflict between blacks and whites in America in the early 20th century. From this ideology, he assumes they are oppressed and therefore are justified to fight honorably and die honorably. If We Must Die Deandre & Lauren By: Claude Mckay Attitude The attitude that the speaker expresses in the poem is very intense. The Poem “If We Must Die”, by Claude Mckay portrays the deep feelings felt during the conflict between blacks and whites in America in the early 20th century. Theme The theme of this poem is, "Fight for what you believe and never give up when the odds may be slim." The Red Summer was the motivation behind McKay's "If We Must Die. Bearing in mind that all people are created equal and therefore have equal rights, racism becomes a major hindrance towards achieving the universal goal of brotherhood (Axelrod et al., 453). If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! McKay's more militant approach is seen in the the phrases "If we must die," "let us nobly die," "honor us though dead," and "Pressed to the wall, dying." By using the ritual of hunting as an image, we observe from traditions that the purpose is to kill, as it turns out when one is hunting an animal. The blacks have presented a number of grievances and they are given an assurance that they will be acted upon. Most of them had never enjoyed liberty and peace but were met by corruption, cruelty and slavery. McKay's speaker in "If We Must Die" focuses a great deal on nobility, bravery, and honor – stereotypically masculine features. Examples of rhetoric are thus: Hogs are castrated male pigs and this rhetoric refers to the way people die without choice as they are hunted by vicious dogs. This hate is too strong and can be complemented by love one feel for his country; America in the New World was meant to be a place devoid of all oppression and an utopia to live in. The poem was a wake up call for the blacks to stand up and fight for their rights. The image brought up is in form of vicious dogs which stir a kind of fear to the listener. *You can also browse our support articles here >. To shape its negative depiction of surrender in the first quatrain, the poem relies not just on the comparison to hogs but on the sense that not resisting will mean being "penned" and surrounded. This is also seen in the line encouraging people to face the murderous, cowardly pack like men. In the first line of the sonnet “If we must die, let it not be like hogs”. “If we must die, O let us nobly die”, and eventhough the person might be by far outnumbered, beaten and maimed not to … The imagined enemy is using force to fight and force must also be used against them. In the rhetoric and logic of the poem, then, humanity—and its values of honor, glory, and worth—is ineluctably tied up with masculinity, and as the critic Marcellus Blount states, "whatever the position of women, for McKay this is a battle between men.". Apart from the normal transaction of man as a beast, other barbaric activities took place like separating children from parents, raping young women and forced labor. The key word "defy" at the poem's halfway point encourages outright opposition, even when that means death, and the speaker clearly sees violence as justified when responding to murder and oppression. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. In conclusion, the “poem” as well as the “address” brings about a sense of hate to an evil that is making people miserable. Each of these sentences has the common theme of death as the driving force, however McKay utilizes repetition as a tool for emphasizing the importance of not backing down in the face of death. For example, McKay uses a line “though far outnumbered let us show us brave” and this can be compared to the Garnet statement that “we are four million”. Bravery: McKay appeals to his people to resist with courage and determination those who would murder them. What though before us lies the open grave? Slavery brought a lot of misery to the people. As people increase and get enlightened, those perpetuating slavery are loosing their hold because of the pressure. Clearly provocative and even chilling, If We Must Die by Claude McKay stirs deep and powerful emotions in any who reads it. Moreover, if we read the "us" in the poem as referring to African Americans, then these nonhuman descriptions condemn the racist rhetoric of the time and assert that it is the racist whites who are actually subhuman and animal-like. If we must die, let it not be like hogs. The themes which can be deduced in this poem are; Honor, Bravery, Purpose, Identity, Alienation, Rebellion, Community Development, Mortality, Masculinity and Men, and Warfare. There is a call to never give up. Quoting form the Bible, the writer uses its teaching to rebuke slavery in every manner and urge his fellow citizens and brothers to stand up and resist this evil. Dying nobly. If We Must Die, by Claude McKay is a sonnet written during the Harlem Renaissance period; a period where there was a flowering of African-American literature and art … Copyright © 1999 - 2021 GradeSaver LLC. In … So that our precious blood may not be shed. white lynch mob that targeted blacks in Washington. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. The dogs are “mad and hungry” is a kind of extended metaphor which denotes their purpose of being killing beasts. much time was wasted to bring it to this end that vernacular tradition writers felt must not be so. It was during these years that riots related to race were experienced in the United States of America. These ideals might seem fundamentally antithetical to the poem's post-World War I moment, where millions of men had just died in a long and senseless war that for many proved the futility of "glory" and "heroism." Using an iambic pentameter, imagery and ending it with a couplet is a way to emphasize the theme of honor and pride that he wants to portray to the reader. The sonnet’s language is in the iambic pentameter and this means that the couplet carries the message across. Honor: Through out the poem are acts that the speaker feels should be treated with honor and respect. The assertion that they fight honorably is used to differentiate between cowards and real men. "If We Must Die" and the Theme of Death When we consider the hypothesis that the meaning here passes through the entire poem [9], we observe that the subject of the poem appears already if one considers the general architecture of the strongly static title "If We Must Die" If We Must Die, which is the first illustration or formal Many heroes and martyrs are named to influence those who would be cowardly to face the fight they are about to embark on. In concluding the address, the masses are given a choice between death and liberty. One of the subtler lexical patterns in the poem is words of constraint ("penned," "constrained," "pressed"), which McKay applies to both sides in the conflict. Death here becomes, as in Greek mythology, a show of purpose, strength and nobility. A message of hope is given to the people in the notion that slavery is sooner going to be a thing of the past. One of the things that seems to have given the poem its universal appeal is its reference to highly traditional notions of bravery, glory, and heroism. O kinsmen! And at the end of the poem, the speaker returns to an image of constraint—"pressed to the wall"—but now encourages us to picture not an execution but valiant men fighting to the bitter end. If we must die McKay. If We Must Die By: Claude McKay If We Must Die, by Claude McKay is a sonnet written during the Harlem Renaissance period; a period where there was a flowering of African-American literature and art, (1919- mid 1930s).Though the Harlem Renaissance period was a time of thriving people and culture in the African-American community, prejudice was still very much active; something … This sonnet form gives the poem a sense of forward … VAT Registration No: 842417633. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! Some of the themes found in the poem are death, honor, and masculinity. He seems more preoccupied by the way he dies rather if it happens and how. Imagery is utilized, in cases where tropes come in to play. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. Death is the poem's main theme, invoked in the title, the first and last line, and many times in between. Oh, Kinsmen! The Renaissance was fueled by migrations of African-Americans from Caribbean and Manhattan and soldiers returning from World War I who felt pride in their military escapades. He was ambitious and educated despite belonging to a minority race. If we must die, O let us nobly die. He grew up in a black society in the times when color-conscious culture was a norm. Both the third quatrain and the final couplet begin by affirming the allies' masculinity, and "like men" in particular depicts "manliness" as an ideal to be attained rather than a given condition of being a man. The whites would attack the blacks and vice versa. Instead, the speaker suggests that true freedom comes in accepting fate and dying nobly, which will force oppressors to show one honor after death. “If We Must Die,” written in 1919 by Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay, became for many African Americans an anthem for resistance against the anti-black violence then sweeping the nation. Free resources to assist you with your university studies! Strikingly, and rather unusually for McKay, "If We Must Die" refuses the "I" of the modern lyric poem in favor of the plural pronouns "we," "us," and "our." The fight will rely on all these inspiration and the search for freedom all coupled by the fact that they are numerous; four million sufferers (Widmer, and Ted, 314). Mortality: McKay displays death as inevitable and part of human life. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? If we must die, let it not be like hogs. The first works in form of two books was done whilst still in Jamaica in the local dialect. Claude McKay was born in Jamaica on September 15, 1889. The speaker says “if we must die, O let us nobly die” (McKay 5). A poem inspired by violent race riots, it serves as a motivating anthem representative of an entire culture. It should not be a matter of concern the lack of rules, revenge and unstoppable bravery as long as people fight and die for a just cause. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. McKay urges his people to fight bravery regardless of whether they die or not; and death is likely. Tropes such as metaphor and irony are types of rhetoric that have been used in the poem. It was under such circumstances that the poem “If We Must Die” was born (Hutchinson, 62). It also brought out pride and dignity amongst black in the face of oppression by the majority whites (Haskins J. et al, 152). The poem thus became an inspiration to black so that they could resist the attacks. He was educated by his older brother, who possessed a library of English novels, poetry, and scientific texts. If in this vision there are thus no alternatives to death, there is nevertheless a right and wrong way to die. What does line 12 of "If We Must Die" most likely mean. The speaker of "If We Must Die" assumes that the foe will? His fantasies about death exceed those of Emily Dickinson and other Romantic poets like Keats. McKay published more poems in Eastman’s magazine, notably the inspirational “ If We Must Die ,” which defended Black rights and threatened retaliation for prejudice and abuse. Tropes bring about the helplessness and relentless of the people faced with oppression. It reflects the racism and violence around In such a circumstance, there are no rules of engagement and every means is welcome. Company Registration No: 4964706. THEMATIC ANALYSIS. All the words of the poem can only refer to men talk since history also depicts men as warriors. The writer points out that slavery had created a gap between the oppressor and the oppressed. The general world is also blamed since they just look down to the plight of the blacks as they continue to be oppressed (Chapman, 372). Harlem Renaissance: Harlem renaissance played a major role in showing that blacks too had literary abilities by contributing much towards poetry, music and art. The speaker spends his 14 lines advocating for a noble death that will allow the dead to live on through their glory, and his rhyme on "die/defy" importantly suggests that a valiant death is not an acquiescence but a defiance. Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. Looking for a flexible role? Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursèd lot. This made a rebel out of him and he was to find himself yearning to right the wrong. Pigs usually don’t die in a noble way and this is a depiction of the kind of death awaiting the oppressed in the pursuit of their rights. If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed. Claude McKay’s "If We Must Die," the poem most often judged to be the inaugural address of the Harlem Renaissance, was first printed above an article on Bolshevism and religion in the July 1919 Liberator. While writers often use sonnets to address a single lover (real or imagined), McKay conceives of his audience in terms of a mass public, attempting to band his "kinsmen" together even if the whole world stands against them. Much of the power of the poem itself, however, comes from the fact that McKay does not, in Tolson's words, "hog-tie the free will of the attacked by the imposition of an affirmative decision." The poet Melvin B. Tolson described the poem's theme as "ignobleness versus nobleness in man's tragedy," highlighting the imbrication of ideals of nobility and masculinity and invoking a classical sense of "tragedy." By using words like "if" and "let" in the beginning, the speaker builds his case slowly, so that when he unequivocally states in the final couplet that "we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack," the audience has presumably already decided to join him of their own accord. “If We Must Die” is a Shakespearean sonnet written by the Jamaican poet Claude McKay in 1919. A history spanning some two hundred and twenty years provide the hopes and expectation people had as they migrated in to the New World. Colonists, the British, had taken slavery to a higher level by embracing its advantage and this led to people fighting for independence and liberty. Such inspiring works were common in vernacular tradition and almost all had to do with a quest for freedom. By choosing hogs, the writer wants to bring about the powerlessness of the enemies. If we must die, let it not be like hogs. If we must die—let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, They were to do so valiantly and with courage since the oppression they faced was too much to bear. In the vernacular tradition chapters dealing with spirituals, gospel and secular rhymes, the themes are similar and are closely tied to the message in the poem. Rhetorical strategies: Rhetoric is divided in to taxis which deals with the argument structure and the way lines and phrases contribute to effective understanding.