When Dawn Comes to the City

When Dawn Comes to the City The tired cars go grumbling by, The moaning, groaning cars, And the old milk carts go rumbling by Under the same dull stars. Out of the tenements, cold as stone, Dark figures start for work; I watch them sadly shuffle on, 'Tis dawn, dawn in New York. But I would be on the island of the sea, In the heart of the island of the sea, Where the cocks are crowing, crowing, crowing, And the hens are cackling in the rose-apple tree, Where the old draft-horse is neighing, neighing, neighing, Out on the brown dew-silvered lawn, And the tethered cow is lowing, lowing, lowing, And dear old Ned is braying, braying, braying, And the shaggy Nannie goat is calling, calling, calling From her little trampled corner of the long wide lea That stretches to the waters of the hill-stream falling Sheer upon the flat rocks joyously! There, oh, there! on the island of the sea, There would I be at dawn. The tired cars go grumbling by, The crazy, lazy cars, And the same milk carts go rumbling by Under the dying stars. A lonely newsboy hurries by, Humming a recent ditty; Red streaks strike through the gray of the sky, The dawn comes to the city. But I would be on the island of the sea, In the heart of the island of the sea, Where the cocks are crowing, crowing, crowing, And the hens are cackling in the rose-apple tree, Where the old draft-horse is neighing, neighing, neighing Out on the brown dew-silvered lawn, And the tethered cow is lowing, lowing, lowing, And dear old Ned is braying, braying, braying, And the shaggy Nannie goat is calling, calling, calling, From her little trampled corner of the long wide lea That stretches to the waters of the hill-stream falling Sheer upon the flat rocks joyously! There, oh, there! on the island of the sea, There I would be at dawn. Claude McKay Analysis Claude Mckay's "When Dawn Comes to the City" describes a typical day for blacks in Harlem. McKay's language includes an intertwinement of personification, repetition, A B rhyme scheme, onomatopoeia, symbolism, and sensuous imagery. All of these elements combine create a feeling a hustle and bustle: the feeling of Harlem. Each element individually creates its own part in the city of Harlem. The personification of the tired cars, moaning, and groaning. Of the crazy, lazy cars, dying stars, and rumbling milk carton. This gives Harlem the feel that its a town that never goes to sleep. Even the inanimate objects move all of the time, making the city stay live. Onomatopoeia is also used in conjunction with the personification. Every other stanza onomatopoeia is used. All of the animals produce their distinct sounds once dawn rises. The three time repetition of their sounds helps to create the seen that all of these animals and inanimate objects are there all at the same time. The more their noises are repeated, the more they are contributing to the bustle of the city. The A B rhyme scheme pairs up the nouns and the verbs that rhyme together. This shows that even though there is much activity going on in Harlem, there is still a sense of unity between everything in certain way. There are also a few uses of symbolism. The dark figures that start for work are the black people beginning to wake up at dawn and contributing their part to the city life. The dull stars fading away into the life of dawn represent the black communities oppressors fading away because they are ready to start a new day with new ambitions. The darkness can no longer protect their oppressors, so they leave. So, when dawn comes to the city McKay is in the heart of Harlem, where all of the black community's dreams are coming to life again. The continuous mention of dawn in New York and not of night represents the black community's beginning to find their own identity and freedom. The sensuous use of language helps give the city a taste for what it wants, and the repetition of the animal's noise gives Harlem "the beat" it needs to keep going. Embodiment of the Period "When Dawn Comes to the City" represents the life of Harlem and the sense of the black community finding themselves. The constant sensuous imagery and use of onomatopoeia keeps the reader's mental and imaginable focus, helping them unconsciously concentrate on the nonstop pace of Harlem. This poem is not about the individual people of Harlem, but rather about the city itself. There is no individual reference to anyone, save for the author. The only reference to anyone is symbolistic (i.e. dark figures) or general (i.e. lonely newsboy). There are also many references to loneliness and almost isolation. The lonely newsboy is one example, under the same dull stars in another example, and the last example is when the author describes himself in the heart of the island of the sea. The loneliness further defines the black community's independence from outsiders around them during that time period.