Exploring the Text

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  1. Identify the form of “If We Must Die.” Why do you think Claude McKay chose that form for his message? How does the rhyme scheme add a level of meaning to the poem?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Identify the form of “If We Must Die.” Why do you think Claude McKay chose that form for his message? How does the rhyme scheme add a level of meaning to the poem?
  2. Who do you think is the speaker of “If We Must Die”? What is his persona?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Who do you think is the speaker of “If We Must Die”? What is his persona?
  3. What argument does McKay make by beginning “If We Must Die” with images of animals and starting the penultimate line with “Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack” (l. 13)?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What argument does McKay make by beginning “If We Must Die” with images of animals and starting the penultimate line with “Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack” (l. 13)?
  4. McKay wrote this poem in response to a series of antiblack riots and lynchings in the summer of 1919. How do you think the poem was received by whites? By blacks?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - McKay wrote this poem in response to a series of antiblack riots and lynchings in the summer of 1919. How do you think the poem was received by whites? By blacks?
  5. Do you think “If We Must Die” is a plea for martyrdom? How else might it be explained?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Do you think “If We Must Die” is a plea for martyrdom? How else might it be explained?
  6. Critic William Maxwell notes that though “If We Must Die” is considered to be the “inaugural address of the Harlem Renaissance,” McKay unveiled it first to the black employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where McKay was a waiter. Why do you think he chose them as his first audience?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Critic William Maxwell notes that though “If We Must Die” is considered to be the “inaugural address of the Harlem Renaissance,” McKay unveiled it first to the black employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where McKay was a waiter. Why do you think he chose them as his first audience?