If We Must Die by Claude McKay

Claude McKay

If We Must Die
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 accursed lot.
If we must die—oh, 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!
Oh, Kinsmen!  We must meet the common foe;
Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
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!

Analysis

If we must die

Beginning the poem with a conditional statement, McKay sets up the conflict in the rest of the poem as the interaction between the antecedent and the consequent. If death must occur, the speaker asks that his people die with dignity.

“Hogs” refers to domesticated pigs raised for slaughter— As on a farm, where animals have little or no agency, McKay suggests the relationship between the speaker (including the collective “we”) and the opposition is similarly unbalanced. Conceding that death is inevitable he wishes to at least die courageously, not in the “inglorious” way that pigs do.

Inglorious spot

Hogs are typically raised in stalls or pens that are understandably inglorious, or in other words filled with animal waste and smell terrible. McKay is saying that this collective “we” cannot allow their situation to decline into anything as degrading as a pig pen.

Bark the mad and hungry dogs
The opposition is named, albe it nonspecifically and through an extended metaphor. The “we” in this poem are fighting against dogs who a.) can only articulate themselves through unintelligible barking and b.) are bloodthirsty and crazed.

Precious blood may not be shed In vain

Perhaps, McKay is allying the speaker of this poem with a certain biblical someone who can turn water into wine. It’s not necessarily a direct reference, but the idea that the only way the speaker’s life will not be in vain is if he dies a noble death is reminiscent of biblical martyrdom


Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

The speaker asserts that dying will lead to the ultimate freedom. They will finally be treated with respect because they have asserted themselves as men.

Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,

The speaker encourages his allies to fight back even though they have no chance of winning. Reminiscent of the film 300, when the Spartan army chose to stand their ground despite them being overwhelmingly outnumbered. But this one line more than any other highlights the poem’s purpose of being a rally cry.

And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow

The speaker calls for the power of unity and resistance. Though the collective faces a thousand blows, their single response will have power.

O Kinsman
An address beginning with “O” might seem a little archaic for a poem written in 1919, but this is another example of McKay appropriating elevated language to bring a sense of universality to his poem. Notice also how in the beginning of the poem the collective “we” was narrowly defined by the hog metaphor, and it has now expanded, and lost the metaphoric quality—the “we” becomes “kinsmen,” establishing a bond between him and his people. The speaker unites his people and raises them up, elevating his speech to voice his call.