Term Papers Can’t find it here? Try MegaEssays.com If We Must Die - Claude McKay By: Pamela Atkins Poetry Claude McKay "If We Must Die" One of the most influential writers of the Harlem Renaissance was Jamaican born Claude McKay‚ who was a political activist‚ a novelist‚ an essayist and a poet. Claude McKay was aware of how to keep his name consistently in mainstream culture by writing for that audience. Although in McKay’s arsenal he possessed powerful poems. The book that included
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Claude McKay’s poem‚ If We Must Die‚ is a poem about racial inequality and persecution with a very angry tone. The words of this poem exude with the poet’s rage against the injustices done to his race. His hatred of the inequality is evident in his harsh descriptions of his persecutors. However‚ the reader can also feel the emotions of triumph because "If We Must Die" is also a poem of strength‚ rally and hope for the African American race. In the opening line‚ McKay urges his people not to die
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Claude McKay was born in Jamaica‚ West Indies‚ in 1889 (there has been much confusion over whether McKay was born in 1889 or 1890‚ but his birth certificate has been discovered showing that he was born in 1889 [See Winston‚ Footnote 8] ). Educated by his older brother‚ McKay published his first work entitled Songs of Jamaica in 1912‚ the same year he left his homeland for the United States. There he attended Tuskegee Institute‚ although his enrollment was short-lived. He left after just a few
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An Essay on the Literary Works of Claude McKay Monday‚ January 16‚ 2012 African-American history often teaches of prominent figures that made a significant impact on not only the African-American community‚ but on America as a whole. Not often are we familiar with those leaders who are not mentioned in our textbooks but ironically defined literary movements in our African-American history. Fettus Claudius McKay is that leader. Claude McKay was born in Jamaica in 1899. He was a restless
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Claude McKay Claude McKay was one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century African American literature. When mentioning controversial writers‚ Claude McKay comes to mind. He was first of many African American writers who became known for speaking his mind through literature during the early 1900’s. He used his gift of creativity with words to express his feelings on various issues. Claude McKay is an unforgettable African-American writer who was influenced by his culture as well as
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their art. One person famous for expressing his feelings during these times through his poems was Claude McKay. McKay believed that change was in order and the black community needed to do something in order to make that change. In the poem “If We Must Die‚” Claude McKay calls for racial pride against white oppression through his use of similes‚ metaphors‚ contradictions‚ and biblical allusions. McKay uses a simile to introduce his trope of blacks being hogs trapped in the city. He also establishes
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Claude McKay & Dialectical Analysis In Claude McKay’s‚ “Old England” and “Quashie to Buccra” McKay uses dialect as a way to give poems multiple meanings. What may be seen as a simplistic or naïve poem about Jamaican life may actually be full of double meanings that only a select audience would be able to identify. In his poem’s‚ McKay ultimately gives Negros who work under white colonists the underlying message of black resistance by revolution. Perhaps what makes this interpretation so
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In the poem "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay‚ the author cries out to his audience -to his men at arms- to fight back against those that oppress them and are intent to kill them. Though not as rich in poetic symbolism as the poems by Emily Dickinson and George Herbert‚ McKay’s poem evokes a stronger and more inspiring emotional reaction. He achieves this through his rhyme and rhythm scheme‚ through alliteration and repetition‚ and through animal imagery. They shall be examined in reverse order.
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Analysis of ‘America’ by Claude McKay ‘America’ by Claude McKay is an interesting poem that brings out its theme by using metaphors and personification. The diction used in the poem is also eye catching; communicating more than what meets the eye. Generally‚ the poem takes readers through strong emotions of attachment and hate‚ while at the same time magnifying the issues in the society. This poem can be considered a standard sonnet‚ which is made up of a couplet and three quatrains that have been
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“America” by Claude McKay is a poem describing the speaker’s alternating‚ yet passionate view of love and hate of their country due to the prominent racism they must endure. Throughout the poem the theme that a person’s struggle teaches them to grow is revealed. The theme‚ a person’s struggle helps them to grow‚ is expressed through the metaphor‚ personification‚ and unique diction. Metaphors are used contribute to the theme‚ person’s struggle helps them to grow‚ and convey the speaker’s relationship
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