Explication of "Baptism" by Claude McKay

"Baptism"  by Claude McKay

Into the furnace let me go alone;
Stay you without in terror of the heat.
I will go naked in--for thus ''tis sweet--
Into the weird depths of the hottest zone.
I will not quiver in the frailest bone,
You will not note a flicker of defeat;
My heart shall tremble not its fate to meet,
My mouth give utterance to any moan.
The yawning oven spits forth fiery spears;
Red aspish tongues shout wordlessly my name.
Desire destroys, consumes my mortal fears,
Transforming me into a shape of flame.
I will come out, back to your world of tears,
A stronger soul within a finer frame. 

Claude Mckay’s poem “Baptism” is an expression of the human desire to face one’s challenges boldly and courageously in the hope of coming out the other side stronger and more able to take on future challenges. The narrator of the poem—hereafter referred to with the masculine pronoun, though it could likely be representative of either gender—is about to enter the furnace, and does so entirely by his own choice, not because of any compulsory means. He enters the furnace alone, leaving behind us as the reader, to look into the furnace with terror. He goes in naked, “for thus ‘tis sweet.” Nakedness is often used as a symbol for letting down barriers and opening one’s soul to the world; he thus goes in as the man he is and nothing more.

            While inside the “hottest zone” of the furnace, the narrator shows no sign of weakness. He does not even flinch at the pain, and we as the observer “will not note a flicker of defeat.” Though he is well aware of his fate at this point, he continues on his predetermined course within the furnace. As he is in the flames, it is desire that consumes his fears and turns him “into a shape of flame.” As he rose to meet his fate among the intense heat and power within the furnace, he was transformed into the very thing that was there to break him down. He becomes empowered, both body and soul, to meet once again the woes that surely await him within the “world of tears” he came from.

            The narrator’s process of growth through tribulation can be applied to any individual at any time in history. This could be an account of any person who has experienced what McKay calls the “world of tears,” but it can be applied, by relation to the author, to the opposition that was present during the Harlem Renaissance. There were many stereotypes, beliefs, and even laws that caused major trials for any African-American who decided to stand up and boldly face the furnace of oppression. McKay’s message is, in part, that showing fortitude and standing up for one’s rights can be a powerful, purifying experience. Or, you may just get burned.