Rhyme Scheme Of America By Claude Mckay

I used the poem titled, America by Claude McKay as my inspiration to write my own poem called Institution based off my experience in school. I used the literary elements and techniques of the poem to use as influence for mine. For example, I used the rhyme scheme, syllable count, and line count that had been used in McKay’s poem, in mine. My poem is exactly 14 lines long, ten syllables per line and has a rhyme scheme of A, B, A, B, like the McKay’s poem. Using similar techniques helped me to convey how each line told its own story and were not just a line, but a specific length and ending in a certain rhyme. The original poem impacted my thinking by showing me how although America was slowly killing the narrator, he still loved her and had
hope for her. For my poem, I used something in my life that also has a love/hate relationship which is school. Despite how I feel “tortured” in school, I still love it because one day, as the narrator saw the hope in America, I will be thankful for the knowledge it has given me. The message of my poem is that even though school is horrible to me now, I still love because I see the good and hope for it and the role it will play in my future. In conclusion, I used the poem America to inspire my own poem to show a similar love/hate relationship I have with my school as the narrator had with America.