America

America

by Claude McKay

Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

Meanings of America

“America” by Claude McKay revolves around an immigrant, who dislikes the adopted country. Although he shares the mighty land of America, the country fails to incite love in the speaker’s heart. He expresses his balancing love and hatred for the United States. He catalogs all the country’s flaws yet defines that it inspires strength within him. The verses of the poem contribute to the main idea of bitterness, violence, and love of a person who is forcefully living in a state that makes him stand on the edge of destruction.

Meanings of Lines 1-4

Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.

This four-lined stanza presents how America forces bitterness upon the poet. Resentment refers to corruption, violence, and other odds present in America. He compares America to a fierce animal that oppresses and robs his joys. Nonetheless, the speaker admits that he loves this hellish place despite its cruelty. For him, America is an overbearing and unpleasant county that never offers peace and prosperity. Although America is personified as a woman, the femininity of the country comes on contrasting terms with the speaker. These lines contribute to the main idea of bitterness and violence.

Meanings of Lines 5-8

Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,

This four-lined stanza comprises the speaker’s balancing ideas of hatred and love for America. Here, he admits that American power flows like a tide into his blood despite her vengefulness. It gives him the power to combat the hatred that he endures. He compares the country’s big size to a flood that fills him with strength. But he stands like a rebel who goes against the king’s will. In these lines, the writer recounts some good characteristics of America, the country fills her citizens with strength and power, which contributes to the main idea of hatred and bitterness.

Meanings of Lines 9-12

I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there.

These four lines exhibit the speaker’s perspective on American land. He calls himself a rebel who stands within its borders without any fear, criticizing the American nation while living there. Now, the speaker sets aside all the negativity and looks ahead toward the country’s dismal future. He calls America’s glory as “might and granite wonders”, which shows its power in the world.

Meanings of Lines 13-14

Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

The final couplet of the sonnet foresees the bleak future of America. The poet sees the declining monumental power and prosperity of America declining from memory in time. These lines show the farsightedness of the speaker; he knows that the present power of America is not lasting. One day, the power of nature will surpass America’s strength. He believes in the destructive power of time and says that the country cannot beat the supreme power. These two verses sum up the main idea of the sonnet, which is bitterness, ensuing resentment, and violence.

Summary of America

• Popularity of America: america was written by Claude McKay, a great American poet and writer. It is a thought-provoking sonnet. It expresses McKay’s ambivalent feelings about America. Also, it acknowledges the United States’ vitality while criticizing violence and racism. The poem has become the talk of the town because of its prophetical stance regarding the United States.
• “America” As a Representative of Hatred: The poem presents strong criticism of the United States. It begins when the speaker compares America to a lady and says that America is an oppressive place that attacks him like a wild beast. Also, she robs him of his life and forces him to feel bitter resentment against her. Besides her inhumane treatment, the speaker admits that he loves this hellish country because she challenges his youthful strength. He feels that her immense strength flowing through his veins gives him the power to flag her prejudicial hatred. As the poem continues, he compares himself to a rebellious warrior calmly facing a superpower within his region. The poem ends when he prophecies about the grim future of America in which he sees the fading power of this land.
• Major Themes in “America”: Oppression, hatred, and love are the major themes of the poem. Published in 1921, the sonnet channels the speaker’s ambivalent feelings about the adopted country. He confesses his love for the United States despite all the hatred and bitterness he possesses for it. The poem expresses internal and external conflicts that incite hatred in the speaker’s heart for the adopted land. He accuses America of bringing him physical and emotional harm. To present a catchy image of his feelings, he compares America to a tiger who bites his neck, resulting in the loss of health and vitality. After listing these harms, he grudgingly confesses his love for America as its powerful position paradoxically gives him the strength to endure the cruelty and challenges. However, in the final emotional shift, the speaker claims that he cannot see this country blooming in the future. Instead, it will fall to ruin in the future.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in America

literary devices are used to bring richness to the poem. Their appropriate usage allows the writers to express their ideas in an effective way. McKay has also used some literary devices in the poem whose analysis is as follows.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness” and the sound of /o/ in “Her vigor flows like tides into my blood.”
2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession such as the sound of /t/ in “throat her tiger’s tooth” and the sound of /w/ in “within her walls with.”
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth” and the sound of /s/ in “Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.”
4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.”

5. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Claude has used imagery in this poem such as “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness”, “Her vigor flows like tides into my blood” and “Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.”
6. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used bitterness as an extended metaphor to show how is he spending life in America.”
7. Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. The poet has personified America throughout the poem such as “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,” and “Giving me strength erect against her hate.”
8. Simile: It is a device used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. Claude has used this device at many places in the poem such as “Her vigor flows like tides into my blood” and “Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand/Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.”
9. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbolism like bitterness, love, and oppression.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in America

Poetic devices are used to give the simple poetic text a unique tone and structure. McKay has used many poetic devices in the poem. The analysis is as follows.

1. Couplet: There are two constructive lines of verse in a couplet, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme. This sonnet ends with a couplet, which usually reveals the central idea of the poem.

2. End Rhyme: The end Rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Claude McKay has used end rhyme in this poem such as “sand/hand”, “blood/flood” and “hate/state.”
3. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. There are three quatrains in this poem.

4. Rhyme Scheme: The sonnet follows a Shakespearean rhyme scheme that is ABABCDCD in its octave and EFEFGG in its sestet.
5. Sonnet: A sonnet is a fourteen-lined poem usually written in iambic pentameter. This sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful for a person to express the changing nature of time.

“Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.”