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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


TIGER by CLAUDE MCKAY

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: THE WHITE MAN IS A TIGER AT MY THROAT
Last Line: THE TIGER IN HIS STRENGTH HIS THIRST MUST SLAKE!
Subject(s): RACISM; UNITED STATES; RACIAL PREJUDICE; BIGOTRY; AMERICA;

The white man is a tiger at my throat,
Drinking my blood as my life ebbs away,
And muttering that his terrible striped coat
Is Freedom's and portends the Light of Day.
Oh white man, you may suck up all my blood
And throw my carcass into potter's field,
But never will I say with you that mud
Is bread for Negroes! Never will I yield.

Europe and Asia wait
The touted New Deal of the New World's hand!
New systems will be built on race and hate,
The Eagle and the Dollar will command.
Oh Lord! My body, and my heart too, break --
The tiger in his strength his thirst must slake!



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