The White House by Claude McKay

The White House
By Claude McKay
Your door is shut against my tightened face,
And I am sharp as steel with discontent;
But I possess the courage and the grace
To bear my anger proudly and unbent.
The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet,
A chafing savage, down the decent street;
And passion rends my vitals as I pass,
Where boldly shines your shuttered door of glass.
Oh, I must search for wisdom every hour,
Deep in my wrathful bosom sore and raw,
And find in it the superhuman power
To hold me to the letter of your law!
Oh, I must keep my heart inviolate
Against the potent poison of your hate.

Here is the link: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15248

Response #6: How biographical information about the poet deepens an understanding of the poem

Claude McKay, author of The White House, was born in Jamaica, West Indies, 1889. In 1912, he travelled to the United States to attend school. During his stay here he witnessed many injustices pertaining to the black citizens. His interest in political and social matters is evident in many of his poems, especially The White House. During the 1920s Claude McKay became interested in Communism and moved to Russia and then to France. His enthusiasm, however, eventually ceased and he moved to Harlem. During the Harlem Renaissance he felt inspired to celebrate his heritage and write about his life as a black man. As a child he was told the stories of his ancestors, who were brought over as slaves, but managed to keep together. He became very proud of his race and was never wiling to apologize for the color of his skin. In The White House, Claude McKay speaks from his own experiences, using first person and including detailed imagery, such as the “shuttered door of glass” and his “wrathful bosom sore and raw.”
He writes about his resentment concerning the social inequalities, and the struggle he goes through in attempting to subdue his hatred. Having seen his family being acted against in violent ways, he knows that brutality is not the solution and he must refrain from acting out of aggression. The White House tells the life of a man who stood “proudly and unbent” in the face of “potent poison.” Later Harlem Renaissance poets such as Langston Hughes found much inspiration in McKay’s work.