If We Must Die Mckay

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Recommended: Poetic influences in the Harlem Renaissance

Poetry was one of the main forms of art that introduced racial identity for American-Americans. Claude McKay was a Jamaican writer and poet who was an influential figure in the Harlem Renaissance. A chilling piece of work, If We Must Die by McKay stirs deep and powerful emotions in any who reads it and is inspired by the race riots during the Red Summer of 1919. The poem serves as an anthem for motivation that represents the African-American plight. Graphic and full of vengeance, this poem is not about a story, but rather consists of the speaker insisting that his men take action . McKay utilizes imagery to its fullest extent creating an end result which makes one feel like they are getting this spoken at them, and it is in first person. The

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