“Baptism” 
By Claude McKay 
Jocelyn Evert 
5​th​ Hour AP Lit 
2/11/18 
 
 
Evert 1 
 

“Baptism”​ Clean 
Copy 
By Claude McKay 

1. Into the furnace let me go alone; 

2. Stay you without in terror of the heat. 

3. I will go naked in -- for thus ‘tis sweet -- 

4. Into the weird depths of the hottest zone. 

5. I will not quiver in the frailest bone, 

6. You will not note a flicker of defeat; 

7. My heart shall tremble not its fate to meet, 

8. My mouth give utterance to any moan. 

9. The yawning oven spits forth fiery spears; 

10. Red aspish tongues shout wordlessly my name. 

11. Desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears, 

12. Transforming me into a shape of flame. 

13. I will come out, back to your world of tears, 

14. A stronger soul within a finer frame. 

 
 
Evert 2 
 

 
“Baptism”​ Rhyme Scheme, Sonnet Type 
By Claude McKay 

1. Into the furnace let me go alone; a 

2. Stay you without in terror of the heat. b 

3. I will go naked in -- for thus ‘tis sweet -- b 

4. Into the weird depths of the hottest zone. a octave 

5. I will not quiver in the frailest bone, a 

6. You will not note a flicker of defeat; b 

7. My heart shall tremble not its fate to meet, b 

8. My mouth give utterance to any moan. a 

9. The yawning oven spits forth fiery spears; c 

10. Red aspish tongues shout wordlessly my name. d 

11. Desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears, c sestet 

12. Transforming me into a shape of flame. d 

13. I will come out, back to your world of tears, c 

14. A stronger soul within a finer frame. d 

Petrarchan, or Italian Sonnet 

 
 
Evert 3 
 

 
“Baptism” ​Rhythm, Meter 
By Claude McKay 
u/|u / | u / | u / | u / | 
1. Into the furnace let me go alone; 
u /| u /|u /| u /| u / | 
2. Stay you without in terror of the heat. 
u / | u /| u / | u / | u / | 
3. I will go naked in -- for thus ‘tis sweet -- 
u /|u / | u /| u /| u / | 
4. Into the weird depths of the hottest zone. 
u /| u /| u / | u / | u / | 
5. I will not quiver in the frailest bone, 
u / |u / | u / | u / | u / | 
6. You will not note a flicker of defeat; 
u / | u / | u / | u / | u / | 
7. My heart shall tremble not its fate to meet, 
u / |u /| u / | u /|u / | 
8. My mouth give utterance to any moan. 
u /|u /|u / | u / |u / | 
9. The yawning oven spits forth fiery spears; 
u /|u / | u / | u /| u / | 
10. Red aspish tongues shout wordlessly my name. 
u/ | u / | u / | u / |u / | 
11. Desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears, 
u / |u /|u/|u / | u / | 
12. Transforming me into a shape of flame. 
u / | u / | u /| u / | u / | 
13. I will come out, back to your world of tears, 
u / | u / | u / | u /| u / | 
14. A stronger soul within a finer frame. 
 

No irregular lines, all iambic pentameter 

 
 
Evert 4 
 

Vocab 
Furnace- trial 
Alone- without anyone else 
Terror- extreme fear 
Heat- part of the trial 
Naked- without assistance of a tool or weapon 
Sweet- a better experience 
Weird- strange, extreme 
Depths- trials 
Zone- an area containing the worst, most fearsome, trials 
Quiver- shake back and forth rapidly 
Frailest- weakest, smallest 
Bone- the building block of the body, what keeps it standing 
Note- take a note, see 
Flicker- slight hesitation, small amount 
Defeat- loss, broken will 
Heart- life 
Tremble- shake involuntarily 
Fate- destiny, the future is already written in stone, death 
Meet- be in the presence of someone 
Mouth- where sound emanates from 
Utterance- voice to 
Moan- a low sound made by a person 
Yawning- a wide opening 
Oven- hell, trial generator 
Spits- releases, yields up 
Fiery Spears- intense obstacles in the trial that must be overcome 
Aspish- venomous 
Tongues- people who speak and criticize, but mean little or nothing 
Desire- strong feeling of wanting the trial to end 
Destroys, Consumes- puts an end to, or eats 
Mortal- wordly, physical, deadly 
Fears- Weaknesses 
Transforming- changing into something else 
Flame- energy, a new person, a stronger person 
World of Tears- world of fears, relief after the trial is over 
Soul- sense of self or identity 
 
Evert 5 
 

Frame- body, mindset 

Paraphrasing 

You stay here and let me face my trial, without assistance from anyone or 

anything because it is harder and better for me this way. I am going into the 

harshest trial I have ever faced but I will not back down. No one will even see a 

glimpse of fear or defeat. I will not die today from this, nor cry out because of the 

burden of this trial. It throws more venomous obstacles at me and others try to 

discourage me, but they are unimportant. Desire to finish this trial takes away my 

fears and weaknesses and I become stronger for getting through this. I will come 

back to you and your weak fears, a better man and person. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Evert 6 
 

 
Journalistic Questions 
Who? 

The speaker is a human being, possibly a black male, even though it could be 

anyone, who is going through tough trials in life. 

What? 

He is describing the intensity of the trial that he is facing, the obstacles that 

are thrown at him, and his courageous reactions to them.   

Where? 

This poem takes place in America where there is much upheaval about how 

colored people should be treated. It could also be applied anywhere, anytime, to 

anyone who is experiencing a struggle. 

When? 

This scene takes place during the Harlem Renaissance, in the 1920s, or it could 

take place at any point in life when a trial must be faced. 

Why? 

The speaker faces many trials, and his courage to stand in the face of each 

makes him a better person.  

 
 
Evert 7 
 

Author Background 

Claude McKay was a poet that was known 

for his novels and poems that came about 

during the Harlem Renaissance. He was born 

on September 15, 1889 in Jamaica and 

immigrated to America. He loved his African 

heritage, philosophy, and poetry, which he 

studied with Englishman Walter Jekyll, and 

managed to blend them to create his famous 

works, “If We Must Die” and “Harlem Shadows”. He studied communism and traveled 

throughout much of Europe and North Africa while publishing his works, which were 

received well by the critics. He returned to the U.S. and became involved in various 

social and political issues such as the Universal Negro Improvement Association. At 

the end of his life, he converted to Catholicism and became an official U.S. citizen. He 

died in Chicago, Illinois of a heart attack on May 22, 1948.  

https://www.biography.com/people/claude-mckay-9392654 
 
Evert 8 
 

“Baptism” F
​ igures of Speech, Literary Devices 
By Claude McKay 

1. Into the f​ urnace​ let me go alone; Key 

2. Stay you without in terror of the h

​ eat​. ​Extended Metaphor 

3. I will g
​ o naked in​ -- f​ or thus ‘tis sweet -​ - ​Metaphor 

4. Into the w
​ eird depths​ of the h
​ ottest zone​. I​ rony   

5. I will n
​ ot quiver​ in the ​frailest bone​, C
​ aesura   

6. You will not note a flicker of defeat; O

​ xymoron   

7. My heart shall ​tremble not its fate to meet​, P

​ ersonification 

8. My mouth give utterance to any m

​ oan​. V
​ olta   

9. The y
​ awn​ing​ oven ​spits​ forth f​ iery spears​; O
​ nomatopoeia   

10. Red aspish ​tongues​ ​shout​ wordlessly​ my name.   

11. Desire d
​ estroys​,​ consumes​ my mortal fears, 

12. Transforming me into a shape of flame​.   

13. I will come out​,​ back to your w

​ orld of tears​, 

14. A ​stronger soul​ within a f​ iner frame​. 

Line #  Device  Example  Explanation 

1, 2, 4,  Extended  furnace/  This extended metaphor contributes to the 

9, 10, 11  Metaphor  hottest zone/  meaning of the poem by setting the scene. It 
oven  is a comparison to a trial, or obstacles that 
the speaker is trying to overcome. 

3, 5, 7,  Irony  not quiver,  Normally one would expect frail body parts 
9  frailest bone  to be scared or trembling from fear, but this 
trial will be passed because even the 
weakest parts of the speaker will not give in. 
 
Evert 9 
 

“Baptism” ​Sound Devices 

By Claude McKay 

1. Into the furnace let me go ​alone​; Key 

2. Stay you without in terror of the h

​ eat​. ​Slant Rhyme 1 

3. I will go naked in -- ​for thus ‘tis ​sweet -​ - ​Slant Rhyme 2 

4. Into t​ he weird depths​ of the hottest ​zone​. ​Masculine Rhyme 1 

5. I will not quiver in the frailest b

​ one​, ​Masculine Rhyme 2   

6. You will n
​ ot​ n
​ ote​ a f​ l​ icker o​f​ ​de​fe
​ at​; A
​ lliteration 

7. My ​hear​t​ shall ​tr​ emble no​t​ i​ts​ fa​te

​ ​t o
​ m
​ ee​t,​ A
​ ssonance 

8. M​y ​m​outh give utterance to any m

​ oan​. C
​ onsonance 

9. The yawning oven ​spits ​fo

​ rth ​fi​ ery s​ pears​; C
​ acophony 

10. Red aspish tongues ​shout w

​ ordlessly​ my n
​ ame​. E
​ uphony 

11. Des​ire ​des​troys, consu​me

​ sm
​ y
​ ​ mo
​ rtal ​fears​, 

12. Transforming me into a

​ ​ sh​ap
​ e of ​fl​a​me​. 

13. I will come out, back to y​ou​r w​or​ ld of ​tears​, 

14. A ​st​ ronger ​so

​ ul within a f​ i​ ner ​fr​ ame​. 

Line #  Device  Example  Explanation 

4, 10  Cacophony  the weird  This sentence does not flow over the tongue 
depths  easily and is situated at the beginning of the 
poem signifying hardships and trials that 
await the speaker. 

3, 6, 7,  Euphony  stronger soul  This contributes to the meaning of the 

9, 14  within a finer  sonnet because the trial the speaker had to 
frame  face is now over and he can relax, thus the 
ending sounds pleasant because he has 
accomplished his task. 
 
Evert 10 
 

Tone Paragraph 

In the first eight lines of the poem, the speaker demonstrates his confidence 

as he describes what the observer will not see him do as he faces his trial. He begins 

by asserting that he must face this trial alone and that the observer must be 

“without in terror of the heat” or, in other words, not help him get through it. He 

insists that the observer will not see him “quiver in the frailest bone” or “note a flicker 

of defeat”. The volta occurs after line eight when the trial actually begins. The 

speaker is fearless as “desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears” and he faces 

down “aspish tongues” and “fiery spears”. He is empowered, transformed when he 

“becomes a shape of flame” and after his trial he is “A stronger soul within a finer 

frame”. 

 
 
Evert 11 
 

Focus Statement 

In “Baptism”, Claude McKay creates a, confident, empowered speaker who is 

preparing and facing and intense trial to prove that through facing hardship, man 

can become stronger mentally, spiritually, or physically. 

 
 
Evert 12 
 

Accompanying Poem 

“Invictus” 
By William Earnest Henley 
 
Out of the night that covers me, 
Black as the Pit from pole to pole, 
I thank whatever gods may be 
For my unconquerable soul. 
 
In the fell clutch of circumstance 
I have not winced nor cried aloud. 
Under the bludgeonings of chance 
My head is bloody, but unbowed. 
 
Beyond this place of wrath and tears 
Looms but the Horror of the shade, 
And yet the menace of the years 
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. 
 
It matters not how strait the gate, 
How charged with punishments the scroll. 
I am the master of my fate: 
I am the captain of my soul.