Literary Analysis Of Claude Mckay's If We Must Die

Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die” is a bold poem written during an eventful time for civil rights history, the Harlem Renaissance. During the Harlem Renaissance the African American community endured extreme racism and degradation. McKay wrote this poem with the intent to display his feelings as an immigrant who moved to America for a better life but instead was thrown into a situation where he was treated like an animal instead of a person. He chose to write this poem in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, which ironically is a more common form for the writing of love poems and “if we must die” is nothing of the sort. The speaker says “if we must die, O let us nobly die” (McKay 5). 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 speaker is a sort of leader, calling out to others to overcome the “common foe” and live and die with meaning and bravery, encouraging the audience to go forth and fight what is holding them back.
During the Harlem Renaissance the death rates of African Americans greatly increased. There were problems with lynch mobs and discrimination in the south, causing many of them to migrate North, including McKay. …show more content…
Iambic pentameter, couplet and imagery are used to clearly emphasize the sound, theme, and moral of the poem. The descriptive words and placement of them really brings on the sense of pride and honor. Using words like “vain” and deathblow” gave insight into the way that they resented the white population. The poem specifically addresses the social injustices of the time period including racism. During this time lynching and hate crimes were still going on. Harlem having been a predominantly African American area, these issues hit home with the people living in these areas and needed to be