Genre: Poetry

The Lynching   

His spirit is smoke ascended to high heaven.

His father, by the cruelest way of pain,

Had bidden him to his bosom once again;

The awful sin remained still unforgiven.

All night a bright and solitary star

(Perchance the one that ever guided him,

Yet gave him up at last to Fate's wild whim)

Hung pitifully o'er the swinging char.

Day dawned, and soon the mixed crowds came to view

The ghastly body swaying in the sun:

The women thronged to look, but never a one

Showed sorrow in her eyes of steely blue;

And little lads, lynchers that were to be,

Danced round the dreadful thing in fiendish glee.

-Claude McKay

      This poem was written by Claude McKay in 1922, the height of lynchings in the United States, and can be found on page 927. It is clear that this poem, as with many if McKay's works, wishes to emphasize the horrors blacks faced in this era. He uses words like "sin," "ghastly," and "fiendish," to convey his tone of disgust and terror. The word choice for a poem of this caliber needs to be strong to convey the tone and selective to fit the rhyme scheme. This poem is a good example of the range of words one can, and should, use to make their writing clear and forceful.
      I take interest in word choice. I often use dictionaries and thesauruses to improve my diction for conversations and reading comprehension. I always find it important to be certain of the meaning of words I use and, if possible, use a more accurate word. In modern day it is far more simple to gain access to a dictionary and thesaurus because everyone has a phone. I adamantly believe it is always important to display one's message as accurately as possible, which is best done through using vocabulary which perfectly fits. I have never seen a lynching, but with accounts like these I can be absolutely certain I would be horrified and sickened.
      The Lynching is a good example of word choice being used to accurately convey a message. Not only does he paint a clear picture of the scene but he also ensures the audience takes the stance he wants them to. He wants it to be clear that lynching is an atrocity. With his word choice lynchings cannot possibly be interpreted as benevolent. McKay's other writings function the same way: unique and powerful words are used to describe the scene and actions exactly as he wants to.
      It is vital that the reader understand a vast majority of the words used in whatever they are reading. If the reader cannot comprehend the vocabulary used in what they read then they are merely wasting their time. The reader may misconstrue or learn nothing from the work. It is also invaluable a writer use a wide range of words to ensure their writing is interesting and interpreted properly.