Works Cited:

Chaney, Michael A. "Traveling Harlem's Europe: Vagabondage from Slave Narratives to Gwendolyn Bennett's 'Wedding Day' and Claude McKay's 'Banjo.'" Journal of Narrative Theory, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2002, pp. 52-76.

Innes, C. L. “Virgin Territories and Motherlands: Colonial and Nationalist Representations of Africa and Ireland.” Feminist Review, No. 47, 1994, pp. 1-14.

Johnson, Barbara. “Apostrophe, Animation, and Abortion.” Diacritics, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1986, pp. 28-47.

Smethurst, James. "The Red Is East: Claude McKay and the New Black Radicalism of the Twentieth Century." American Literary History, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2009, pp. 355-367.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “rend” means to rip apart. One could infer that by “new birth,” McKay means the birth of Communism, and that he is eager for it to rip apart the current political structures of “old earth” capitalism.

Although it is a specific country in East Africa, “Ethiopia” was commonly used to refer to Africa as a whole through the early 20th century when this poem was published. For examples of this particular use of the word “Ethiopia,” see quotations underneath the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2nd definition of the word “Ethiopian.” Lack of knowledge and general misuse of terms related to Africa and African cultures was also common. The Dreadnought hoax of 1910, highlighted this as members of the Bloomsbury Group pranked the Royal Navy by dressing up as diplomats from a fake African country. Of the whole Harlem Shadows poetry collection, only one other poem uses the word “Africa,” and no other poem employs the term “Ethiopia."

This line, although common in many works of poetry, is used frequently in Chants of Labor: A Song Book of The People, which was published in 1905. The themes of the songs in Chants of Labor are similar to those of this poem.

The word “travail,” which in French translates to “work,” has several definitions in the OED, but the two that are most relevant are the following: 1) bodily or mental labour or toil, especially of a painful or oppressive nature; 2) the labour and pain of childbirth. McKay’s use of the word “travail” works in tandem both with the other references to Communism, as well as other references to motherhood in the poem (see line 1: “pregnant universe;” line 4: “motherland;” line 8: “birth”). McKay does not employ this word anywhere else in Harlem Shadows.

This line is reminiscent of 1 Corinthians 3:18 of the King James Bible: "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise." Besides Corinthians, the chiasmus of foolishness and wisdom is a frequent trope of the Christian bible.

McKay has an interesting and complex relationship with both the Christian faith and the Jamaican Obeah tradition, so it is unclear from which tradition he may be drawing. It could be a reference to the dead rising in the Christian bible, specifically 1 Corinthians. It could also refer to the duppy, a ghost or spirit of Caribbean folklore.

McKay’s father was a staunch Christian and did not believe in duppies or other Obeah symbols or practices. However, Obeah was still a significant and unavoidable component of Jamaican culture, so McKay was very likely exposed to it. In other poems, such as “The Easter Flower,” McKay identifies as a pagan, which in this context likely means “non-Christian.” Obeah also makes a significant appearance in McKay’s novel Banana Bottom.

Here, McKay could be using the word “East” to refer to either Africa or Russia and the rise of Communism. This poem was originally published in the socialist magazine The Liberator. The word “crimson” later in this line is reminiscent of the red color of the Communist flag). Additionally, a portion of the OED's definition of the word “East” makes a reference to Communism. Because this poem was published in 1920, the “new dawn” could be a nod to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. James Smethurst's article, "The Red Is East: Claude McKay and the New Black Radicalism of the Twentieth Century" suggests McKay could be referring simultaneously to both Africa and Russia.

The term “motherland” usually refers to one’s native country, but the distinction of when to use “motherland” vs. “fatherland” is not quite clear. Some suggest it is a linguistic difference among different world regions. Africa is frequently called “the motherland” and “mother Africa.” In her article “Virgin Territories and Motherlands: Colonial and Nationalist Representations of Africa and Ireland,” C. L. Innes argues that conflating the African continent with the image of the mother figure “seems to be a product [of] anti-colonialist and nationalist movements. And these movements are often figured as a kind of Oedipal or Family romance, in which the sons of the nation seek to usurp the imperial father-figures who have laid claim to the mother/wife” (10). There are additionally a number of other motherhood-related words in this poem (see annotation for the word "travail").

McKay makes frequent use of the apostrophe in his poetry, a literary device in which a speaker addresses a third party. This third party may be an absent or present individual, or an inanimate object. Multiple other Harlem Renaissance poets also used apostrophe, including Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes. The recurring use of this device could come from a number of sources, such as the common use of apostrophe among African-American spirituals and blues songs. According to Michael A. Chaney's article "Traveling Harlem's Europe: Vagabondage from Slave Narratives to Gwendolyn Bennett's 'Wedding Day' and Claude McKay's 'Banjo,'" apostrophe in Harlem Renaissance poetry often addresses a long-lost home, and it appears to be doing so here. For further reading on the purposes and history of the apostrophe, refer to Barbara Johnson’s article, “Apostrophe, Animation, and Abortion.”

Another poet who uses this exact line is Walt Whitman, in section 50 of "Song of Myself," published in 1855.