Commentary no. 4

Off the top the poem "America" is a sonnet. It has three quadrants with a concluding couplet and a perfect rhyming scheme. McKay incorporates a mixture of personification with figurative language to paint a more diverse picture. If you take the first 4 lines, “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess, I love this cultured hell that tests my youth,” you can see that these are all feelings from motherly characteristics. Not only does comparing America to a mother help the reader relate better to the speaker, but it shows what America is and how it appears.  The end of the poem closes, “Darkly I gaze into the days ahead”, “Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.” the speaker exerts his passionate feelings both positively and negatively toward America. The 1920s were a time of excitement, but also a time of struggle. This poem clearly shows both sides during the Harlem Renaissance