If We Must Die by Claude McKay. An analysis of his rhyme and rhythm scheme, alliteration and repetition, and animal imagery.

If We Must Die by Claude McKay. An analysis of his rhyme and rhythm scheme, alliteration and repetition, and animal imagery. In the poem "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay, the author cries out to his audience -to his men at arms- to fight back against those that oppress them and are intent to kill them. Though not as rich in poetic symbolism as the poems by Emily Dickinson and George Herbert, McKay's poem evokes a stronger and more inspiring emotional reaction. He achieves this through his rhyme and rhythm scheme, through alliteration and repetition, and through animal imagery. They shall be examined in reverse order.The first two lines of McKay's poem, "If we must die, let it not be like hogs / Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot," establishes an animal theme, which is continued throughout the rest of the poem. McKay reaches out to the audience with intent to inspire them to action. The audience becomes a hunted animal. In lines three and four, "While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, / Making their mock at our accursed lot," McKay portrays the adversary as a pack of wild dogs intent on killing th e speaker and his "kinsmen."Death Valley Sand Dunes