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Ballad Of Birmingham Violence

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One of the other biggest literary devices that Randall uses in the poem is symbolism. There are keys words in the line of the poem that hint toward or symbolize parts of society. “ ‘Ballad of Birmingham’ is a historical marker” (Boyd 65). The society that is being represented here comes from the Civil Rights Movement. Violence is one of the main symbols represented throughout the poem “For the dogs are fierce and wild, / And clubs and hoses, guns and jails” (Randall 6-7). These words depict the violence. Unfortunately, the words in the poem that depict violence could also describe the policemen during the Civil Rights Movement. Many times the policemen would start the violence during the protests. Described through the words of the poem, it

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