If We Must Die

“If We Must Die” is a Shakespearean sonnet. The poem uses mostly iambic pentameter, and it contains 14 lines with three quatrains and a concluding couplet. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

The first half of the poem uses conditional statements to set up the urgency of the moment and to establish the tone and message of the poem. The second half of the poem drops the conditionals and replaces them with direct commands, signifying the speaker’s confidence and belief in the goal.

The volta, or turn, of the sonnet comes right before the concluding couplet. The speaker asks, “What though before us lies the open grave?” (Line 12). It is the only question in the poem, and the line sets up the image of the final transformation of the hogs into men who fight through death, and the monstrous dogs who have become even more animalistic in their pursuit.

McKay’s use of the Shakespearean sonnet is notable because poets have traditionally used sonnets for more romantic poetry. McKay uses the form here for political and social purposes. Working within form gives the message a tight, structured, and organized feel that a