"The Tropics in New York" is a poem by Jamaican-American writer Claude McKay, an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance, originally published in 1920 in the socialist magazine The Liberatore. In the poem, the speaker comes across a pile of tropical fruits displayed in a store window that reminds them of their native country and prompts an overwhelming feeling of homesickness. The poem treats this homesickness as a metaphorical "hunger," suggesting that the longing for home is as fundamental as the need for food.
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The Full Text of “The Tropics in New York”
1Bananas ripe and green, and ginger-root,
2Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
3And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit,
4Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs,
5Set in the window, bringing memories
6Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills,
7And dewy dawns, and mystical blue skies
8In benediction over nun-like hills.
9My eyes grew dim, and I could no more gaze;
10A wave of longing through my body swept,
11And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
12I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.
The Full Text of “The Tropics in New York”
1Bananas ripe and green, and ginger-root,
2Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
3And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit,
4Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs,
5Set in the window, bringing memories
6Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills,
7And dewy dawns, and mystical blue skies
8In benediction over nun-like hills.
9My eyes grew dim, and I could no more gaze;
10A wave of longing through my body swept,
11And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
12I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.
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“The Tropics in New York” Summary
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“The Tropics in New York” Themes
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The Power of Homesickness
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Tropics in New York”
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Lines 1-4
Bananas ripe and green, and ginger-root,
Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit,
Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs, -
Lines 5-6
Set in the window, bringing memories
Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills, -
Lines 7-8
And dewy dawns, and mystical blue skies
In benediction over nun-like hills. -
Lines 9-10
My eyes grew dim, and I could no more gaze;
A wave of longing through my body swept, -
Lines 11-12
And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.
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“The Tropics in New York” Symbols
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The Window
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“The Tropics in New York” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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Assonance
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Imagery
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Simile
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Metaphor
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Enjambment
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Polysyndeton
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“The Tropics in New York” 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.
- Alligator pears
- Parish
- Rills
- Benediction
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Tropics in New York”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Tropics in New York” Speaker
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“The Tropics in New York” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Tropics in New York”
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More “The Tropics in New York” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to Ziggy Marley performing the poem.
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A Biography of the Poet — Learn more about Claude McKay at the Poetry Foundation.
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The Harlem Renaissance — Learn more about the literary and historical moment McKay was part of.
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An Essay on the Poem's Langauge — Read Michael North's essay about race and linguistics in "The Tropics in New York."
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The Poet Reading His Own Work — Listen to a recording of McKay reading several of his poems—including this one.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Claude McKay
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