Claude McKay’s heritage and life experiences influence the themes he selects to highlight in his sonnet “America.”
McKay’s early life played a significant role in shaping some of his works. McKay was born in Jamaica on September 15, 1889 to Thomas and Ann Elizabeth McKay (Evans). He was the youngest of their eight children. His parents were peasants but still well-respected in Jamaican society because of their devotion to Baptist Christianity (Evans). When McKay was eight years old, his parents sent him to live with his oldest brother Uriah Theophilus in Montego Bay, Jamaica. His brother was a teacher and journalist. While away from his parents, McKay loved to learn from his older brother yet grew away from the Baptist faith. When he was fourteen, he returned to live with his parents. McKay started to train to become a teacher, but an earthquake and the death of his mother hindered the process. He briefly worked in a factory and then joined the police force. At this point in his life, it is rumored that McKay started to have sexual relations with men and women. All of these events in McKay’s life play a role in the themes he chooses to highlight in his writing.
After quitting the police force, McKay began writing poetry. He made the acquaintance of Walter Jekyll, an Englishman who was particularly interested in the poetry McKay wrote in the Jamaican dialect. In 1912, Jekyll’s support led McKay to publish Songs of Jamaica. This book focused on the beauty of Jamaica and was written in McKay’s native dialect. McKay won him his first literary prize. After this, McKay focused his energy solely on writing. Inspired by his initial success, he then published Constab Ballads the same year, reflecting on his experiences as a police officer. This was the beginning of McKay’s successful career as an author and poet.
McKay left Jamaica and immigrated to the United States in order to receive a higher education. He went to UNIVERSITY (Evans). While he never returned to Jamaica, he had two published volumes of poems written in creole. These were the first works of Jamaican literature published in the native Jamaican language (Peyster).
Claude McKay continued to publish many successful poems and entered the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. This was a social movement that broke out during the 1920s in Harlem, New York. McKay grew passionate about social justice and was not afraid to voice his sometimes controversial opinion (Peyster). The Harlem Renaissance provided a platform for McKay to showcase his writing, contributing to the outbreak of African American (Brown). McKay published “America” in 1921 and it proved to be a key piece of poetry during the Harlem Renaissance. In the poem, McKay comments on the injustices African Americans face in America. The following year, he published a collection of poems called Harlem Shadows (Brown). His ideas and poems during this time period helped to provide a platform for the Civil Rights movement that occurred later in the late 1960s (Peyster). McKay was a critical figure in the Harlem Renaissance through spreading his criticisms of racism and injustice for African Americans in America.
McKay has a distinct writing style that shapes his works. One key aspect of his writing style is his rhyme. “America” is written as a Shakespearean sonnet in the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poem has fourteen lines; it includes three quatrains and ends with a couplet. In the first half of the poem, McKay explains his feelings of contempt and appreciation for America; he describes that America hurts him yet despite that, he still loves “her.” Then, there is a volta that occurs halfway through the poem between lines seven and eight. This volta signifies the change in attitude McKay undergoes regarding his feelings towards America. After this turn, McKay expresses his feelings of acceptance with his new home. Despite having difficulties in America initially, McKay reluctantly conveys that he loves America. This poem is a way to praise America, because McKay writes a poem about it so that others can see his praise.
McKay’s rhythm in “America” is also an important stylistic distinction that enhances his writing. The sonnet is written in iambic pentameter. However, there are multiple trochaic inversions within the lines. For example, insert trochaic inversion examples. McKay also uses spondees in some of the lines. Examples of spondees. Finally, McKay uses enjambment to help the flow of “America.” There is enjambment between lines three and four and nine and ten. McKay does not punctuate the end of lines three and nine; instead he continues to progress the thought and connects these lines with the next lines in the poem.
“America” contains many examples of figurative language. The main stylistic choice is McKay’s personification of America. In this sonnet, America actively feeds, sinks, steals, flows, sweeps, etc. McKay chooses to personify America using verbs, showing the significant impact immigrating to America had on his life. McKay also uses metaphor in some of his personifications of America. In line one, America feeds him the “bread of bitterness.” This is a metaphor for McKay’s original bitterness when coming to America, but America is still feeding him which represents how he needed America in order to survive. This symbolizes how McKay is dependent on America even when it continuously puts him down. This word choice using “bitterness” shows how he felt when he first came to America because of the prejudice and racism shown towards him. He also uses a metaphor by saying “as a rebel fronts a king in state,” showing the true divergence of the American ideal between the reality that existed within America at the time. His mixed feelings for America brings him to develop both a love and a hatred for America. Even though he has feelings of discontent with America, McKay still relishes the challenges he faces that test his youth. Personification and metaphors enhance and help convey the theme of McKay’s sonnet “America.”
Along with the previously mentioned literary devices, McKay also uses similes in a variety of lines. In line five, McKay uses a simile in saying that America’s vigor flows “like tides.” This imagery depicts how America’s vigor flows freely yet sometimes out of control, just like the tides in the ocean. McKay also uses another simile in line seven. He states that America’s bigness sweeps his being “like a flood.” This means that the size of America overwhelms McKay. These similes parallel each other in a way in that they are both using water to convey an almost uncontrollable event. Finally, there is imagery seen in McKay’s description of the “tiger’s tooth.” The stripes of this tiger parallel the stripes on the American flag. This parallel represents McKay’s feeling of being preyed on by America because of his race just as a tiger preys on other animals. McKay’s detailed imagery paints a clear picture in the minds of his readers.