“If We Must Die” is a Shakespearean sonnet written by the Jamaican poet Claude McKay in 1919. It is a poem of political resistance: it calls for oppressed people to resist their oppressors, violently and bravely—even if they die in the struggle. Though the poem has most often been read as a call to resist anti-Black racism, it does not limit its call for resistance to a specific kind of oppression. As a result, it has served as an inspiration to a wide variety of oppressed people around the globe as they fight for their rights and freedom.
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The Full Text of “If We Must Die”
1If we must die, let it not be like hogs
2Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
3While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
4Making their mock at our accursèd lot.
5If we must die, O let us nobly die,
6So that our precious blood may not be shed
7In vain; then even the monsters we defy
8Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
9O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
10Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
11And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
12What though before us lies the open grave?
13Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
14Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
The Full Text of “If We Must Die”
1If we must die, let it not be like hogs
2Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
3While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
4Making their mock at our accursèd lot.
5If we must die, O let us nobly die,
6So that our precious blood may not be shed
7In vain; then even the monsters we defy
8Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
9O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
10Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
11And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
12What though before us lies the open grave?
13Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
14Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
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“If We Must Die” Summary
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“If We Must Die” Themes
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Violence, Dignity, and Resistance
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “If We Must Die”
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Lines 1-4
If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursèd lot. -
Lines 5-8
If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! -
Lines 9-12
O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave? -
Lines 13-14
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
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“If We Must Die” Symbols
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Hogs
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Dogs
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Monsters
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Open Grave
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“If We Must Die” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Caesura
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Personification
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Aporia
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Apostrophe
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Anaphora
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Simile
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Metaphor
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“If We Must Die” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Penned
- Inglorious
- Round
- Mock
- Accurséd
- Nobly
- In vain
- Constrained
- Kinsmen
- Common
- Blows
- Men
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “If We Must Die”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“If We Must Die” Speaker
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“If We Must Die” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “If We Must Die”
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More “If We Must Die” Resources
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External Resources
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A Biography of Claude McKay — A detailed biography of poet Claude McKay from the Poetry Foundation.
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A New African American Identity: The Harlem Renaissance — A history of the Harlem Renaissance from the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History.
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"If We Must Die" Read Aloud — Listen to the poem read by the poet himself.
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The Red Summer of 1919 — A history of 1919's so-called "Red Summer," from the Equal Justice Initiative.
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Claude McKay Discusses "If We Must Die" — Claude McKay himself talks writing this poem.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Claude McKay
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