Poem america essay

The poem America by Claude McKay is on its surface a poem combining what America should be and what this country stands for, with what it actually is, and the attitude it projects amongst the people. Mckay uses the form of poetry to express how he, as a Jamaican immigrant, feels about America.

The poet understands that it is a country that has a quality that inspires strength and passion, although there are certainly many bits that do the opposite. The poem is at once a critique and a love letter to the United States of America. You can read the full poem here.

The opening lines of America focus on the ‘bitterness’ which the country inspires. The daily moments which are horrible, the country being personified and feeding the poet ‘bread of bitterness’. The country is extended into an animal metaphor, ‘sinking into my throat her tiger tooth’, presenting the viciousness of America.

McKay uses Americas very history as a powerful eye opener against the injustice against the African American community, which is the same in context to the injustice America’s founding fathers faced when building this country. Towards the end of the poem McKay unveils the “silver lining” so to speak.