After the Winter By: Claude Mckay

Information about McKay Jamaican- American writer and poet At seven years old Mckay was sent to live with his brother to get the best education Mckay started to write poetry at the age of ten In 1977 Mckay was named National Poet

Structure of Poem 2 stanzas 16 lines End rhyme Ballad Some day, when trees have shed their leaves      And against the morning’s white The shivering birds beneath the eaves      Have sheltered for the night, We’ll turn our faces southward, love,      Toward the summer isle Where bamboos spire the shafted grove      And wide-mouthed orchids smile. And we will seek the quiet hill      Where towers the cotton tree, And leaps the laughing crystal rill,      And works the droning bee. And we will build a cottage there      Beside an open glade, With black-ribbed blue-bells blowing near,      And ferns that never fade. 2 stanzas 16 lines End rhyme Ballad

Speaker of Poem The speaker of the poem is someone who worked hard their entire life and now they get to move on and start over.

Literary elements Personification- when animals, or objects are given human qualities. Imagery- gives images of some lines in a poem.

IMAGERY “And we will build a cottage there, beside and open glade” Connection might be that this might be the house he wants to live in

Imagery “Some day, when the trees have shed their leaves And against the mornings white” Connection might be that he is turning over a new leaf or staring over.

Literal meaning The literal meaning in this poem is that one day fall will change into winter and then it will change again to a warmer season when flowers bloom.

Figurative Meaning The first stanza represents the speaker old life. The second stanza represents a that the speaker is starting over

Personification “And leaps the laughing crystal rill” “Wide mouthed orchids smile”

Authors Purpose McKay was showing that if you work hard one day their will be something good that will come out of it.

Theme The theme of this poem is that if you work hard there will be a reward someday.

Websites Used https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_McKay#Unknown_manuscript http://www.biography.com/people/claude-mckay-9392654