Ballad of Birmingham - Literature Notes
Please note that the information given on this poem is not meant to replace any material given in the classroom setting. It is a very BASIC giude to enable a literal understanding of the poem. Metaphorical interpretations should be sought in the classroom.
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The physical structure of this poem has been altered from the original layout in the text. 'Mother dear, may I go downtown instead of out to play, 1.and march the streets of Birmingham in a freedom march today? 1.'No, baby, no, you may not go, for the dogs are fierce and wild, and clubs and hoses, guns and jails ain't good for a little child.' 'But mother, I won't be alone. Other children will go with me, 1.and march the streets of Birmingham to make our country free.' 1.'No baby, no, you may not go, for I fear those guns will fire. But you may go to church instead, and sing in the children's choir.' She has combed and brushed 2. her night dark hair, and 2. bathed rose petal sweet, and drawn white gloves on her small brown hands, and white shoes on her feet. The mother smiled to know her child was in the sacred place, but that smile was the last smile to come upon her face. For when she heard the explosion, her eyes grew 4.wet and wild. She 5.raced through the streets of Birmingham calling for her child. She 6. clawed through bits of glass and brick, then lifted out a shoe. 'O, here's the shoe my baby wore, but, baby, where are you? Dudley Randall, A World of Poetry (2005) |
This is the OPINION of one individual, which might not coincide with the views of others. LITERAL MEANING The poem is about 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. 
LITERARY DEVICES 1. REPETITION
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2. METAPHOR
- The comparison of the darkness of the child's hair to night is purely to emphasize how black the persona's daughters hair is.
- The comparison of her sweet smell, after her bath, emphasizes the care that went into preparing the child for church. She 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.
IMPORTANT WORDS / PHRASES
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
THEME
Death is the overwhelming theme in this poem. A mother's over protectiveness does not, and seemingly cannot, prevent this tragic event from occurring.
Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
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