Writing about 'If We Must Die'

English

The sonnet through time: 'If we must die', Claude McKay

A quotation which is included within a sentence so that the sentence makes sense as a whole

A quotation which supports the point you are making

A quotation which you think is better than all the others

A long explanation about the poet, the context of the poem and the story of the poem

Context about the poem and a short explanation of how you will answer the question

What should you include in an introduction?

A summary of your argument and a powerful closing statement

The words: This is the end. Thank you for reading my essay, I hope you liked it.

A clear topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence

An explanation of what you like and do not like about the text

Lots of different points that you want to argue

What should you include in a good analytical paragraph?

Which of these words can you use to act as signposts in your writing?

Because he is unsure about what is going to happen

Because he knows that the oppressors are violent

To encourage his community to take charge of their lives and their deaths

To scare the reader and make them fear death

Why does McKay ask the question 'What though before us lies the open grave?'

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

To inspire his community to resist oppression with dignity

What might McKay want to express in his poem 'If We Must Die'?

Complete this quotation about the poem: That is a great poem, authentic fire and blood;

14 lines, iambic pentameter, a tight rhyme scheme and a volta

Rhyming couplets, a loose metre and a cyclical structure

Because he did not know any other forms of poetry

Because he wanted the poem to be a dignified response to oppression

Because he was writing traditionally about love

Why did Claude McKay use the sonnet form for 'If We Must Die'?

A metre which has 5 pairs of syllables following the pattern: stressed, unstressed

A metre which has 5 syllables in each line

A metre which was invented by Shakespeare

So that he doesn't get told off about using the wrong metre

To deliver a controlled but inspiring response to the violence

To sound like a heartbeat which is a pulse

What is the rhyme scheme of 'If We Must Die'?

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

To show that his community will fight back against the threat of death

Why does McKay use the rhyme pairs 'die-defy',  'brave-grave' and 'back-pack'?

'Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack'

'O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!'

'So that our precious blood may not be shed'

'While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs'

Which of these lines is the volta in the poem 'If We Must Die'?

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Writing about 'If We Must Die'

Lesson outcome

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.