Writing about 'If We Must Die'
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Key learning points
- In our final lesson on the poem 'If We Must Die', we will bring together everything we have learnt to produce an essay in response to the poem. We will try to answer the question: 'How does McKay challenge oppression in his poem 'If We Must Die'?
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8 Questions
Q1.
What does a sonnet contain?
Love, tradition and conflict
Oppression and dangerous language
Rhyming couplets, a loose metre and a cyclical structure
Q2.
Why did Claude McKay use the sonnet form for 'If We Must Die'?
Because he did not know any other forms of poetry
Because he loved Shakespeare
Because he was writing traditionally about love
Q3.
What is iambic pentameter?
A metre which has 5 syllables in each line
A metre which is a heartbeat
A metre which was invented by Shakespeare
Q4.
Why might McKay use iambic pentameter?
So that he doesn't get told off about using the wrong metre
To sound like a heartbeat which is a pulse
To sound really frightened and worried
Q5.
What is the rhyme scheme of 'If We Must Die'?
AABB CCDD EEFF GG
ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH
ABBA ABBA CDCDCD
Q6.
Why does McKay use the rhyme pairs 'die-defy', 'brave-grave' and 'back-pack'?
Because he wanted to emphasise the sadness of death
Because these are the rhymes of the sonnet form
To show that he is a good poet who can rhyme
Q7.
What is a volta?
A form of poetry
A time to turn back on yourself
A type of pole used in gymnastics
Q8.
Which of these lines is the volta in the poem 'If We Must Die'?
'Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack'
'So that our precious blood may not be shed'
'While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs'
8 Questions
Q1.
What is an embedded quotation?
A quotation which is only from a poem
A quotation which supports the point you are making
A quotation which you think is better than all the others
Q2.
What should you include in an introduction?
A bit of information about yourself
A long explanation about the poet, the context of the poem and the story of the poem
Your first point about the poem
Q3.
What should you include in a conclusion?
A new argument about the poem
Everything you think about the poem
The words: This is the end. Thank you for reading my essay, I hope you liked it.
Q4.
What should you include in a good analytical paragraph?
A retelling of the story of the poem
An explanation of what you like and do not like about the text
Lots of different points that you want to argue
Q5.
Which of these words can you use to act as signposts in your writing?
Left, Right, Forward, Back
Number 1, number 2, number 3
This way now
Q6.
Why does McKay ask the question 'What though before us lies the open grave?'
Because he is unsure about what is going to happen
Because he knows that the oppressors are violent
To scare the reader and make them fear death
Q7.
What might McKay want to express in his poem 'If We Must Die'?
Fear for his community and embarrassment about what is happening
Love for his community and a reminder not to fight
That there is no point in his community fighting oppression because they will die anyway
Q8.
Complete this quotation about the poem: That is a great poem, authentic fire and blood;
a brilliant and powerful poem
a poem which exploded from me
let it not be like hogs