Joy in the Woods

Joy in the Woods
by Claude McKay

There is joy in the woods just now,
The leaves are whispers of song,
And the birds make mirth on the bough
And music the whole day long,
And God! to dwell in the town
In these springlike summer days,
On my brow an unfading frown
And hate in my heart always—
A machine out of gear, aye, tired,
Yet forced to go on—for I’m hired.
Just forced to go on through fear,
For every day I must eat
And find ugly clothes to wear,
And bad shoes to hurt my feet
And a shelter for work-drugged sleep!
A mere drudge! but what can one do?
A man that’s a man cannot weep!
Suicide? A quitter? Oh, no!

But a slave should never grow tired,
Whom the masters have kindly hired.

But oh! for the woods, the flowers
Of natural, sweet perfume,
The heartening, summer showers
And the smiling shrubs in bloom,
Dust-free, dew-tinted at morn,
The fresh and life-giving air,
The billowing waves of corn
And the birds’ notes rich and clear:—

For a man-machine toil-tired
May crave beauty too—though he’s hired.

Poem Response/Commentary


People always work for worth,
but God did not create money first.
He created the sun and the earth,
and water that keeps you from thirst.
Nature comes before Adam and Eva,
but how often are we pleased about it?
Come on people, it’s better late than never,
enjoy now the beautiful bits.

Free yourself from toil and sweat,
or you will forever feel regret.


This 3-stanza poem has 30 lines in total where each stanza consists of an octet followed by a couplet. There is a regular rhyming pattern which remains ABABCDCDEE throughout the poem.

The poem depicts a workman who longs for nature but, on the other hand, cannot stay any longer to appreciate it for 'he is hired'. The persona is tough and strong with a belief that he must work, not only has to work to make ends meet, but because he is hired. This poem suggests the presence of class and inequality as the lower-class has no choice but to work for the rich. No matter how tired he is, he 'is forced to go on'; no matter how badly he wants to go into nature, he is 'forced to go'. He forbids himself from growing tired and weeping. But by the end of the poem, the persona relieves himself knowing that he has the right to enjoy beauty, even though he's hired.

The stanza that I wrote in response to 'Joy in the Woods' questions on what people are exhausting themselves for. People nowadays put much of their efforts in making money for better living condition. However, most of us ignore the beauty of nature and do not know how to appreciate it. The stanza urges people to find time for nature and thus, will not feel regret. The stanza follows the format of the poem retaining the rhyming scheme ABABCDCDEE.