BALLAD OF BIRMINGHAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OzA7AifBTpQ#!

1.      Identify and analyze the elements and devices in the poem, ‘Ballad of Birmingham’

2.      Discuss the issues portrayed in the poem

3.      Analyze the poem

Summary of Content

BALLAD

A narrative song: a song or poem, especially a traditional one or one in a traditional style, telling a story in a number of short regular stanzas, often with a refrain.

LITERAL MEANING

The poem is about a mother who loses her child. The child made a request to attend a freedom march through the streets of Birmingham, but the mother said no. She feared the many violent things that could befall her child in this setting. She, however, agreed that the child could attend church. She was content with the knowledge that her child was safely at church, until an explosion saw her racing through the streets of Birmingham to find her child. She did not find her, but instead, found a foot of shoe in the rubble.

FIGURATIVE MEANING

Parents cannot always protect their children no matter how hard they try. Life is an irony that one must always be aware of. It is unpredictable. The place/things that one thinks are safe to be/do may just be those that put one’s life at risk, presents the most danger and/or produce fatal results.

LITERARY DEVICES

1. REPETITION

·         The purpose of the child's repetition of where she wants to go and why, is to contextualize the poem. The reader is made aware that the poem is set in Birmingham during the civil rights movement. The repetition is for emphasis of this fact. 

• The mother’s repetition of ‘no’, highlights her fear of the harmful things that could happen to her child. Note that after each ‘no’, she lists possible harmful things that could occur if the child goes on the freedom march.

2. METAPHOR

·         The comparison of the darkness of the child's hair to night is purely to emphasize how black the persona's daughter’s hair is. It could also be a foreshadowing of what is to come.

• The comparison of her sweet smell, after her bath, emphasizes the care that went into preparing the child for church. The phrase also places some emphasis on the child’s innocence, fragility and vulnerability. The child was treasured, well taken care of. The mother did not send her child out into the world with an uncaring touch.

3. IRONY (situational)

The overwhelming irony that exists in this poem is the fact that the mother was so adamant about NOT sending her child to the freedom march, because she considered it to be so dangerous. Yet it is while in church, the place that she thought was sacred and safe, that the child got killed.

4. IMPORTANT WORDS / PHRASES

·         wet and wild: 
This tells the readers that the mother was crying when she heard the explosion, while the term wild points to the panic that overtakes the mother. Her love for her child is emphasized in these two words. 

·         raced:
The mother ran very quickly down the streets of Birmingham. This emphasizes her panic, and in turn, the great love that she felt for her child.

·         clawed:
This word is striking in its intensity. It means that she did not simply remove the rubble, but did so with a desperation that highlights the love that she has for her child.

·         … baby, where are you:

This last line emphasizes the loss of the child. When it is combined with the quotations above, the impact of the frantic panic that the mother feels at the point of the explosion erupts and settles in the expression of total loss and a feeling of helplessness.

5.THEME

·         Death/Fear of Death/Inevitability of Death are the overwhelming themes in this poem. A mother's over protectiveness does not, and seemingly cannot, prevent this tragic event from occurring.  

·         Dreams – of seeing child (ren) grow up, Plans – singing in the church choir, living the life the Lord planned for them to live as Christians, Religion – the belief/faith in God and His Divinity are others

IMPACT OF THE ELEMENTS – samples

Rhythm:

·         The pace in the first half of the poem reflects the excitement of the child in her request to attend the march. The urgency of the mother is also reflected here in her plea for the child’s understanding as she explains her concerns.

·         The second half is faster, more frantic reflecting the panic the mother felt as she races to search for, find and protect her child

Mood:

·         The mood is light, happy and celebratory – the child’s request to march with her friends – and gets serious as the mother denies the child’s request and lists the dangers. It continues going back and forth in the first few stanzas

·         The mood then becomes fearful at the point of the explosion – panic, anxiety, fear becomes constant