If We Must Die by Claude McKay

If We Must Die Reviews

• 
  عهود المخيني

  I think sharing the poem justifies my rate. Here it is:
  
  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!
  
  Claude McKay, the noble poet.
• 
  Jay DeMoir

  Powerful.
• 
  aj buckaroo ✨

  Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
• 
  Madison Kreber

  Claude McKay's poem If We Must Die details his experience as an African American living in American in the early 20th Century. His poem reflects his feelings on the conflict over black versus white, thus characterizing this as a poem that discusses "struggle." When using this in the classroom, this poem should be read aloud as a class. Then, the students should practice reflective writing by pulling 6 words from this poem. Using those 6 words, students will create their own memoir poem with the prompt: Describe a hard moment in your life. In using Gallagher's strategy, students are not only practicing reflective writing, they are also thinking about their life critically. By writing a poem describing a hardship they have experienced, they are using Claude McKay's poem as a model text towards their poems.
• 
  Abbey

  This is one of my favorite poems.
  
  I have loved this poem since I was 14. It spoke to me then just as much as it does now. Now I can have it with me at all times.
• 
  Raghad Khamees

  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!
  
  
  In this poem, he called out to his “kinsmen” (9) to unite and stand up to their enemy, face-to-face. He doesn’t want to continue to be “Hunted and penned” (2) like animals. Line 4, “Making their mock at our accurséd lot” shows white dominance and how they make fun of blacks’ run-down houses; this mocking upsets and degrades the blacks. He is displeased about the whites’ constant unfairness towards them; not treating them like equals or respecting them as human beings. He stressed that if they “must die” (5), they mustn’t die “like hogs” (1) but die nobly with dignity while fighting for what they strive to achieve. However, he feels that the fight for justice may be a difficult battle and so taking this first small step is a must for the long journey ahead. McKay pointed out that their bloods are also “precious blood” (6) that shouldn’t be shed for no reason. He realized that they are no match for their enemy and are “far outnumbered” (10). Still, they shouldn’t be cowards. Instead, they should bravely go against them head-on. He motioned towards the fact that they have nothing to lose, but so much that they can possibly gain, so why not fight and try to accomplish something?
• 
  Linda Ǿåǿ

  angry sonnet