Ballad Of Birmingham

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Derrek Tartt 2/22/12 Ballad of Birmingham The poem “Ballad of Birmingham” was written by Dudley Randall. In this poem he uses irony to describe a mothers concern for the well-being of her little daughter. It is very ironic to me that the child was so interested in marching. I have the image that this little girl is about eight or nine. One would think that she would much rather play outside than march for her people. I think the mother would be the one who would want to go to the march to benefit her people. The mother fears for her child’s safety and sends her, to what she believes is a safe place, to church. In the end the church is bombed. The poem consists of eight, four-line stanzas. It also follows the structure of a folk ballad. This poem has an ABCB rhyme scheme. In the first stanza the little child wants to help better the lives of African Americans. Randall also focuses on specific culture here. The speaker is allowing the reader to make a mental picture of one specific march in Birmingham. Back then, with peace marches and rallies comes violence and a lot of hostility. In lines six and seven, the words “fierce,” “wild,” “clubs,” “hoses,” and “guns” gives the reader images of fights and riots. This is exactly what the little girls mother is afraid of, this is why she will not let her go to the march. It also seems weird that her mother is so sure that going to church, instead of going to the march, will be the best thing for her. Typically, a church is a very safe and sacred place. No one could have guessed that a bombing or any other type of violence would happen there. The irony is that going to church turns out to be the worst place for the mothers child to be. A specific example of irony within the poem is the fact that her mother dresses her in her fancy church clothes, white gloves included, which is ultimately the

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