In the sonnet “If We Must Die,” Claude McKay uses the poetic speaker to discuss the issue racial discrimination and fights between whites and blacks in American. He tells us what it is like to be an African slave. The theme of the sonnet is the love of black nationalism. It is a stichic, an undivided poem. The poetic structure is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. There is a rhyme scheme to the poem, the last word in every other line rhyme with eachother. 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, Making their mock at our accured lot. (ll. 1-4). In these four lines the poet speaker is saying that they cannot give up. And if they do end up dying they want it to be in a
…show more content…
(ll. 13-14). It is talking about how the whites are the “murderous, cowardly pack”. The whites were murderous because it didn’t matter if a colored person died because of them. They were cowardly because a lot of the time they would act like the colored people didn’t matter to them and whatever happened to the colored was not their fault. In the part that writes “Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!” (l. 14) it’s talking about how even though the colored are going through something very hard, they are not giving up even if it means death. They are going to continue to fight even if it takes their own lives from them. I learned from this poem that it is worth fighting for what you believe in, because if you fight hard enough you may get what you want or need. In the sonnet To the White Fiends, Claude McKay uses the poet speaker to discuss how sometimes it takes fighting back to accomplish what you want in life. In this poem the poetic experience is a story of people running from white people until enough is enough and eventually they choose to fight back. It’s about a black soldier is trying to warn white people. This is a stichic poem, it’s structure is AbbA quatrain CddC quatrain EFEFEF sestet. The diction of this poem sounds …show more content…
The darkened earth needs light and the poet speaker is God’s light that is sent to brighten the earth with the light from God. People say that Africa is the heart of darkness and the speaker says have you forgotten that I come from that land. He says have you forgotten I can kill ten of you. He wants to be an example of rightousness or goodness. Requite evil with kindness and love. He does this by acting very bold and strong towards the people he is speaking to. Claude McKay uses a lot of symbols and irony in this poem. The moral in this poem is to fight for your rights even if you are outnumbered. And to never give up and truly believe in yourself. To show thy little lamp: go forth, go forth! (l. 14) this line stands out as the last line because it is so motivational. To me it’s saying to show what you’ve got you need to keep moving forward no matter how hard it may
(ll. 13-14). It is talking about how the whites are the “murderous, cowardly pack”. The whites were murderous because it didn’t matter if a colored person died because of them. They were cowardly because a lot of the time they would act like the colored people didn’t matter to them and whatever happened to the colored was not their fault. In the part that writes “Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!” (l. 14) it’s talking about how even though the colored are going through something very hard, they are not giving up even if it means death. They are going to continue to fight even if it takes their own lives from them. I learned from this poem that it is worth fighting for what you believe in, because if you fight hard enough you may get what you want or need. In the sonnet To the White Fiends, Claude McKay uses the poet speaker to discuss how sometimes it takes fighting back to accomplish what you want in life. In this poem the poetic experience is a story of people running from white people until enough is enough and eventually they choose to fight back. It’s about a black soldier is trying to warn white people. This is a stichic poem, it’s structure is AbbA quatrain CddC quatrain EFEFEF sestet. The diction of this poem sounds …show more content…
The darkened earth needs light and the poet speaker is God’s light that is sent to brighten the earth with the light from God. People say that Africa is the heart of darkness and the speaker says have you forgotten that I come from that land. He says have you forgotten I can kill ten of you. He wants to be an example of rightousness or goodness. Requite evil with kindness and love. He does this by acting very bold and strong towards the people he is speaking to. Claude McKay uses a lot of symbols and irony in this poem. The moral in this poem is to fight for your rights even if you are outnumbered. And to never give up and truly believe in yourself. To show thy little lamp: go forth, go forth! (l. 14) this line stands out as the last line because it is so motivational. To me it’s saying to show what you’ve got you need to keep moving forward no matter how hard it may