Literary Analysis Of If We Must Die By Claude Mckay

1919 was a tough year. World War I was just ending, and many troops were returning to their homes. Blacks were also facing a lot of violence based on racial motives. The Negro-language newspapers were morbidly full of reports of killings, hangings, and murderous shootings that took place in different cities. Claude McKay drew his inspiration for If We Must Die from the Black community’s struggle.

The poem is a Sonnet. These poems are in iambic meter. Iambic is a pattern that has unstressed and stress syllables. The first syllable of an iamb (da-DUM) is unstressed. The word ‘Pentameter,’ indicates how many iambs are in each line. Penta is five. There are therefore five iambs in a line. Iambic pentameter. , then let us not A sonnet is a form that has fourteen lines. Its meaning can be understood by its structure. Sonnets have been used for centuries by poets as a way to express devotion to religion, romantic love, or passion. McKay also uses the form of sonnets in order to convey his feelings of passion and devotion.

As well, the rhyme scheme of the entire poem is: ABABCDCDEFEFGG. Sonnets often include a “turn” in which the theme or tone of the poem changes unexpectedly. The turn in “If We Must Die,” occurs on line 9, where CD becomes ED. The speaker summons his kinsmen: “O brothers! The speaker calls his kinsmen to action: “O kinsmen!” This conveys the main purpose of this poem which is to call people to action. The meaning is implied. This call-to-action helps us visualize the poem as a speech. A speech that a leader gives to his soldiers before a major battle. The poem is made up of short lines. Understanding this type of speech sheds light on the reason why McKay wrote the poem in this manner. This short line allows for many pauses while reading out the poem. These pauses build suspense and create a strong sense of poise as the troops grasp onto his words like it’s their last. A leader in almost all modern movies with battle scenes gives a speech to his troops before the fight, motivating them and inspiring them to fight. The speaker in this poem is a leader who inspires and motivates his people to fight for the underdog team. He’s a noble, brave and inspiring figure. Even though we don’t yet know who or why the speaker’s allies are, we’re sure that they’re on the right track.

McKay’s piece is best understood by using tools like word play and symbols. In line 3, McKay uses the dog metaphor to show that the enemies are neither honorable hunters nor noble ones. McKay employs a different tool to demonstrate how honorable and noble the speaker is and his allies. In line 1, McKay insists on his allies dying like men, not hogs. He prefers they die as men. Pigs also don’t die in a noble way. They’re usually killed without any sympathy. A pig is also called a hog. Castration of male pigs is often used as a sign of powerlessness. The speaker is encouraging his allies to be noble, manly and brave, but hogs represent the opposite.

McKay’s poem is also replete with recurring themes. These are used to provide meaning. One of the most prominent is Nobility/Honor. The idea of honor is woven throughout ‘If we must die’, and it’s the main theme of the poem. The speaker is convinced that he has the “good guys,” because these men are honorable, and they will fight only honorably. In fact, they don’t fight to survive. They know that they will soon die. They will fight to honor their enemies so their death won’t be meaningless.

Mckay’s poem gives us a glimpse into his worldview. The poet repeatedly says that blacks need to be ready to die in order for them. Booker T. Washington thought that blacks were to accept whites’ help because of their good intentions. McKay shows his more militant side in phrases such as “if it is necessary to die”, “let’s nobly go”, “Honor Us Though Dead” and “Pressed Against the Wall, Dying”.