Big grade "If We Must Die,"

“If We Must Die” by Claude McKay

Answers under my questions. You can write yours in BOLD if you think they aren’t showing up enough. I will not take points off for any mistakes you make with scansion. But I will take points off if you don’t even attempt to scan. I will also take points off if you use the dreaded | that I ask you not to use. Thank you! Instead of the | , just space out all words and syllables of words!

1. Look up a biography of Claude McKay, Harlem Renaissance poet. Where was he born

and when? What kind of education did he receive in his youth? When did he come to

the U.S.? What were his politics? His sexual orientation? When did he die?

2. Research the Red Summer of 1919. What was happening and where in the U.S. that

inspired McKay to write “If We Must Die”? How does the poem respond to real events

of the day?

3. Who is the speaker in this poem? I usually refer to this poem as creating a situation of

“us vs. them.” If so, who is the “us” and who is the “them”? Why does McKay use a

plural speaker (as Dunbar does in “We Wear the Mask”) and not say “I”? What is

McKay asking his immediate audience of 1919 to do?

4. “If We Must Die” is a sonnet. What is the rhyme scheme? Place each letter to the right of

each line. Is it a Shakespearean sonnet that breaks down into 4 4 4 and 2, or is a

Petrarchan sonnet that breaks down into 8 & 6?

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 accursèd lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!

What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

5. Count syllables in all lines and write the number of syllables to the right of the rhyme

scheme above.

6. Three lines in the sonnet exceed 10 syllables: lines 2, 7, and 13. Do your best to scan

these three lines to show that they deviate from iambic pentameter. Scanning should also

help you to isolate the problem word or words in all three lines. Why is McKay willing

to disrupt the regular rhythm in these lines? The problem words should give you your

clues or answers. This is a tough question! (N.B. Scansion means that you must type out

the words in a line, separate them into syllables, and under each syllable assign an icon,

either an unstressed mark [u] or a stress mark [/]). I’ll scan the first line for you:

If we must die, let it not be like hogs

 U /      /      /     u   u  /    u     u     /

7. Three lines in the poem do not begin with iambs, an unaccented syllable followed by an

accented one, which we would notate as: u / . Instead, they open with an accented

syllable, followed by an unaccented syllable: / u. This is called a trochee (/ u). Can you

find the three lines that open with a trochee (/ u) instead of an iamb (u /)? What are

they, and what are the opening words that initiate a different rhythm? Why is McKay

willing to disrupt the rhythm in these lines? Why does he choose to emphasize the

opening syllable in all three lines instead of using iambs?

8. McKay has a lot of animal imagery in “If We Must Die.” I find two distinct strands, one

for “us” and the other for “them.” Please track the animal imagery and discuss its

significance to the meaning of the poem.

9. Trace all words that start with M throughout the whole poem. I count 11 words starting

with M. In almost all cases, the M words are within 4 lines of each other. This is called

alliteration. Type up all the words and the lines they appear in. Many of these M words

are the most important words in the poem! What are they?

10. Trace all the words that contain an M in the middle of the word. (I count 3). What are

they? Please give their line numbers? Are any of these words important? These words

are examples of consonance. Note how they work in concert with the alliterative use of

M!

11. There are three words that start with L (alliteration) after line 9, the volta. What are

they?

Four lines contain an L in the middle or at the end of a word. What are they? (This is

consonance).

The L sound is less important in this poem; even so, all of these L’s are singing together

to add to the mood of the poem. And let’s not forget that there are two important L

words right in the first line of the poem: Let and like.

12. There’s a lot of internal rhyme in this poem that we usually miss when we read it. It

starts with the exclamatory “O” in line 5. This “O” is a long O vowel sound. What some

other words that contain the long O vowel sound, even if they are spelled differently?

Include repetition of any words that fall into this category. (I count 11 words with a long

O. This is called assonance.)

13. List all words that begin and end with D in lines 1-8.

14. List four words that possess a K sound at the end or in the middle of words in lines 3 and 4.

15. What is the internal rhyme in lines 7 and 8? (It may not be a perfect rhyme).

16. What two words contain a V in line 7? This is an example of consonance.

17. The Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill, may have read “If We Must Die”

over the radio to inspire British soldiers to fight with valor in World War II. Research

this real-life event a little bit, and then talk about what this indicates about the message of

the poem. Does the poem have a universal message that applies to people of all colors

and at all times?