Claude McKay was born and raised in Jamaica and published two volumes of poetry before coming to America. Those poems are more pastoral evocations of innocence and childhood and a love for his homeland that are absent the outrage and anger which American inspired when he was awakened to virulent racism. Which is not to suggest that McKay was not already politically sensitive in his verse before heading to Alabama and Kansas.
George William Gordon to the Oppressed Natives
This early effort is a demonstration of McKay’s view of himself as political poet. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 which produced reforms by the government of Jamaica is the focus of this poem and an exhibition of the sense of deep historical relevance that the past has on the present.
A Midnight Woman to the Bobby
His Jamaican poetry already established McKay as a voice for the oppressed such narrative effort about a woman who is stopped by a constable for questioning on why she is out on the street by herself so late at night. The woman responds with taunts that he was just like her until joining the force which has now corrupted him with delusions of authority.
Published in 1922 after Claude McKay had emigrated to the U.S. from his homeland of Jamaica, Harlem Shadows became the very first collection of poetry published under aegis of the Harlem Renaissance. In addition, it was the first literary work to come out of that movement to be almost universally hailed as a major literary work. Among others of note, Harlem Shadows contains what became McKay’s signature poem.
Ironically constructed in the form of a Shakespearean love sonnet, “If We Must Die” is a political protest against racial oppression. Stimulated by a series of violent and blood racial conflicts producing rioting and police brutality, “If We Must Die” defiantly urges oppressed blacks to stand up and fight back against white oppressors. Beneath the call for rebellion is a reminder of the cherished values of insurrection in America against those that would deny freedom and undermine one’s self-respect.
Exhortation: Summer, 1919
Another poem partly inspired by the race riots and partly by the return of black servicemen from World War I amid hopes that patriotism would translate into opening new opportunities. Although McKay’s preference was the sonnet form, “Exhortation: Summer, 1919” eschews that structure in order to extend the length of 26 lines. The extra lines are necessary for the topic of the poem’s exhortation to the public watching these racial conflicts and holding the key to opportunities for veterans: do the right thing!
The events of 1919 also urged McKay to directly address the most outrageous form of senseless racial oppression: lynching. Perhaps because he is looking back to a more distant place in history—the long history of lynching following Reconstruction—rather than immediate headlines, the outrage here is tempered by a spiritual metaphor. Once again adopting his preferred sonnet form, the blacks who are lynched and murdered are given a symbolic weight well beyond mere social outrage: they are depicted as sacrificial Christ figures.
Mulatto
Appearing in 1925, “Mulatto” uses the double consciousness of mixed racial heritage as a metaphor for the entire black experience in America. The mulatto symbols the enforced introduction into a country not of its own choosing with the consequent rejection of that society when it tries to assimilate.
Invocation
“Invocation” is inextricably tied to the conceptual thematic foundation of “Mulatto.” In a nod toward his British poetry heroes, this effort demonstrates the lyrical quality of John Milton as the poet feels compelled to justify the black experience as worthy of a literary tradition that essentially traces the development of white civilization.
America
McKay was still crafting protest poetry late in his life, but “America” is tempered with the realizations that come with time. It is a ferocious assault against his adopted country for the many ways it which systematically organizes to dehumanize an entire race. At the same time, however, this oppression also serves to harden his soul and strengthen his resolve to overcome his oppressors.
Claude McKay was not all sound and fury, signifying protest and social conscience. He also write poetry of extraordinary lyrical quality and profound emotional depth with a precise eye toward details that brought his observations to life.
Tropics in New York
This poem is resonant of his pastoral reflections of innocence and the yearning of childhood. Not about the sultry and deadening heat within the skyscrapers of New York, the poem was occasioned by the sight of fresh tropical fruit on display behind large pane glasses in storefront windows. Aptly, the poem almost becomes a loving grocery list of the sweet fruits from the tropics that seem so out of place in the urban jungle of the Big Apple.
Flame Heart
“Flame Heart” is another of McKay’s most well-known poems as stands out among all the protest and politics as a reflection upon being ten years removed from Jamaica. The yearning for innocence of youth is combined with the realization of how much one forgets when one is away from home. It is a lyrical tribute to both to the past and the way that memory impacts the reality of that past.
