Thirstby Claude McKay

Jennifer Radcliff

Bio/Poetic Influences

• Born on September 15, 1890 in Jamaica• Became first voice of the Harlem

Renaissance• Studied at Tuskegee Institute and Kansas

State Teachers College • Died on May 22, 1948 • Wrote the poem, Home to Harlem, which

was most popular novel written by an American black to that time.

• Poetic Influences were George Bernard Shaw,

Thirst

My spirit wails for water, water now! My tongue is aching dry, my throat is hot For water, fresh rain shaken from a bough, Or dawn dews heavy in some leafy spot. My hungry body's burning for a swim In sunlit water where the air is cool, As in Trout Valley where upon a limb The golden finch sings sweetly to the pool. Oh water, water, when the night is done, When day steals gray-white through the windowpane, Clear silver water when I wake, alone, All impotent of parts, of fevered brain; Pure water from a forest fountain first, To wash me, cleanse me, and to quench my thirst!

The poem is talking about the thirst for water the author has. Water is important for many things, not just drinking. For cleansing and washing as well. The authors body wants water in every way.

Poetic Devices

• “My spirit wails for water” (Personification)• “My hungry body's burning for a swim”

(Hyperbole)• “When day steals gray-white through the

windowpane” (Personification)• “My tongue is aching dry” (Imagery)• “Clear silver water when I wake” (Hyperbole)

Works Cited

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/thirst

/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_McKay