Notes

If We Must Die By Claude McKay
Title- Men must have honor and dignity till the very end
Paraphrase-

Let us not die without purpose
Insulted and attacked in some Hellhole
While the mob strikes insult after insult
Targeting our weak group
Let us go out with dignity
So that we leave a legacy behind us
The mob that we resist
Shall not be freer than us
My people, we must come together and rebel
Though outnumbered, let's show our strength
For their thousands of blows, our one has power
We all share death at the end
Comparable to men let's fight this feral mob
On our last breath we will resist

Connotation-

If we must die, let it not be like hogs \://Hogs are referring to pigs, domesticated and used by humans, like slaves
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, \://The only use for a pig is to be slaughtered, the inglorious spot refers to a pigpen
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, \://The first mention of the enemy is in the form of a savage dog, have not attacked yet
Making their mock at our accursèd lot. \://Lot can me group or luck, in this case bad
If we must die, O let us nobly die, \://It is written nobly dies instead of dies nobly-means die noble+as a noble person
So that our precious blood may not be shed \://Biblical reference-Jesus on cross
In vain; then even the monsters we defy \://Dogs transform to monsters
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! \://Enemy will be forced to respect them, they gain ultimate freedom
O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe! \://Turn of poem, creates sense of urgency
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, \://Sense of 300 and Sparta
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! \://They only have one chance out of the thousands their enemy has
What though before us lies the open grave? \://Death
Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack \://Not as men, like men (inferiority)
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! \://Transformation from animals to the equivalent of their white enemies, men

Attitude-Rebellious, Revolutionary
Shift- The tone shifts at line 9 from being to formal, yet still relaxed, to more urgent.
Title Revised-You may not be able to choose when you die but you can choose how you die
Theme- Mortality, Honor