Enslaved By: Claude Mckay.
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Oh when I think of my long-suffering race,
For weary centuries despised, oppressed, Enslaved and lynched, denied a human place In the great life line of the Christian West; And in the Black Land disinherited, Robbed in the ancient country of its birth, My heart grows sick with hate, becomes as lead, For this my race that has no home on earth. Then from the dark depths of my soul I cry To the avenging angel to consume The white man's world of wonders utterly: Let it be swallowed up in earth's vast womb, Or upward roll as sacrificial smoke To liberate my people from its yoke! |
Small Biography of the author. |
Analysis.
Claude McKay was one of the most important writers of the Harlem renaissance that happened during World War I and middle 1930s. The Harlem renaissance was a period where a big explosion of culture and art of the African-american placed in Harlem, New York. In this text I will be analyzing Claude McKay poem “Enslaved”. This poem by Claude McKay portrays how hard was life for African-american race, what they passed through in their present, and what they felt about the treats of white people to them. The poem starts with “Oh when I think of my long-suffering race, For weary centuries despised, oppressed”, by this Claude wanted to give a short description of the past of this race which sadly is true.
This race has been oppressed and enslaved by the white men and by this time they had a little bit more of liberty but now they had to deal with racism. “Enslaved and lynched, denied a human place, In the great life line of the Christian West; And in the Black Land, disinherited, Robbed in the ancient country of its birth, My heart grows sick with hate, becomes as lead, For this my race that has no home on earth”, This is exactly what i meant with the last sentence. Enslaved and lynched, denied a human place by the white men since hundreds of years ago, robbed in the ancient country of its birth, enslaved by Europeans and then by Americans and treated for a long time like they were not humans. Now he expresses how he and maybe many other African-american felt about this, they felt hate. “Then from the dark depths of my soul I cry, To the avenging angel to consume, The white man's world of wonders utterly: Let it be swallowed up in earth's vast womb, Or upward roll as sacrificial smoke, To liberate my people from its yoke!”, he wants to help his people, he wants to be heard, he wants to give freedom and hope to his race. The tone of this poem is really demanding and depressive but not sad. There is a shift in the middle because it started calm and depressing, and ended up demanding and angry. All the Analysis of paintings and poems are connected because all of these were made during the same time period and with the same purpose... show bright and dark parts about the life of an African American. Show how much they suffered to achieve goals like liberty and stopping racism little by little. To show that they can be good poets and painters. To show that the black race is capable of doing things that white can do and that they are humans too.
This race has been oppressed and enslaved by the white men and by this time they had a little bit more of liberty but now they had to deal with racism. “Enslaved and lynched, denied a human place, In the great life line of the Christian West; And in the Black Land, disinherited, Robbed in the ancient country of its birth, My heart grows sick with hate, becomes as lead, For this my race that has no home on earth”, This is exactly what i meant with the last sentence. Enslaved and lynched, denied a human place by the white men since hundreds of years ago, robbed in the ancient country of its birth, enslaved by Europeans and then by Americans and treated for a long time like they were not humans. Now he expresses how he and maybe many other African-american felt about this, they felt hate. “Then from the dark depths of my soul I cry, To the avenging angel to consume, The white man's world of wonders utterly: Let it be swallowed up in earth's vast womb, Or upward roll as sacrificial smoke, To liberate my people from its yoke!”, he wants to help his people, he wants to be heard, he wants to give freedom and hope to his race. The tone of this poem is really demanding and depressive but not sad. There is a shift in the middle because it started calm and depressing, and ended up demanding and angry. All the Analysis of paintings and poems are connected because all of these were made during the same time period and with the same purpose... show bright and dark parts about the life of an African American. Show how much they suffered to achieve goals like liberty and stopping racism little by little. To show that they can be good poets and painters. To show that the black race is capable of doing things that white can do and that they are humans too.