Claude McKay: Key Figure In The Harlem Renaissance

Poet and author Claude McKay was a “key figure in the Harlem Renaissance” since he wrote poems that allowed him to talk about the troubles of racism. As well as many other poets, McKay didn’t only write about discrimination, but he also wrote about topics from his “Jamaican homeland” to “romantic love”. Few poems use dignity as a theme, although very many poems have imagery. Claude McKay’s sonnet “The Harlem Dancer” well displays the use of imagery through a dancer in what seems to be a nightclub who is being watched by the speaker along with others.

The first appearance of the dancer is a descriptive image of her “perfect, half-clothed body” (2) swaying while being watched by the speaker along with couples. As Katie B stated, the dancer pictured in this poem is laid out as a “beautiful picture of strength, talent, and femininity, with no harsh word written about her”. McKay makes “The Harlem Dancer” very well to imagine with the way he excellently describes this dancer in a nightclub. The dancer was being applauded by “youths” (1) who were laughing with “young prostitutes” (1). In the opening of the poem, the dancer is well described based on her looks and what she is doing.

Another appearance of this dancer is an image of her in “light gauze hanging loose” (6) on her. As Megan Shroyer mentioned in her analysis of “The Harlem Dancer”, it seems the dancer is “stripping” and “wearing thinly veiled clothes”. Boys and girls in the night club are seen devouring “her shape with eager, passionate gaze” (12) and the dancer is also seen having coins tossed at her “in praise” (10). This well indicates she is in the nightclub as a stripper. It seems as if the dancer is trying to find happiness and worth within herself, but is having very much trouble finding it.

Towards the end of the poem, the theme of human dignity becomes much more recognizable. While the speaker is looking at the dancer’s fake smile, he or she realized they “knew her self was not in a strange place” (14). It seems as if the dancer is just not there, yet she is in her world not being affected by her environment. This is specially made clearer by how she has “grown lovelier for passing through a storm” (8). As mentioned in an article by Women’s Life, the dancer seems to have gone through some chapter in her life that has been able to make “her more beautiful”.

In conclusion, poet Claude McKay’s poem “The Harlem Dancer” is a poem based on dignity using the perfect image of a dancer. While written during the Harlem Renaissance, John states the dancer had most likely been through “prejudgment in the past” as well as some “discrimination”.