“Ballad of Birmingham” Explication Essay

“He was a quiet , soft-spoken man who wore old-timey clothes, fedoras, button-down wool coats, suspenders, and dressed neatly at all times, regardless of how dirty his work made him” (Mcbride 6).“His father was a black man, a railroad brakeman, and his mother a Native American, so he had a lot of indian in his face: brown skin, slanted brown eyes, high cheekbones and a weather-beaten outdoor look about him..” (Mcbride 120).The writing is figurative by the use of similes and metaphors. “In running from her past, Mommy has created her own nation, a rainbow coalition that descends on her house every Christmas and Thanksgiving.” (277)“Her grits tasted like sand and butter, with big lumps inside that caught in your teeth and suck in your gums.”(McBride 67) . “Ma cried, and she wailed and wailed, the sound of her cries circling the house like a spirit and settling on all the corridors and beds where we ay, weeping in silence.”(McBride 128) Allusions are used to give a timeframe of the time period by talking about issues.“She actually liked Malcolm X. She put in nearly the same category as her civil rights heroes, Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Eleanor

In 'Ballad of Birmingham,' Dudley Randall illustrates a conflict between a child who wishes to march for civil rights and a mother who wishes only to protect her child. Much of this poem is read as dialogue between a mother and a child, a style which gives it an intimate tone and provides insight to the feelings of the characters. Throughout the poem the child is eager to go into Birmingham and march for freedom with the people there. The mother, on the other hand, is very adamant that the child should not go because it is dangerous. It is obvious that the child is concerned about the events surrounding the march and wants to be part of the movement. The child expresses these feelings in a way

Have you ever seen an injustice that you wanted to correct or fix but you were to scared of consequences? Well Martin Luther King was not one of those people who didn’t do something because of the fear for consequences. He went to jail for protesting an injustice that was happening to African Americans everywhere. While he was in jail he decided to write a letter to his fellow clergymen answering their criticisms and explaining his reasons for being in jail. He uses the methods of ethos pathos and logos to explain why his method of non violent and peaceful protests would help further their cause.

Since Sunday September 15, 1963, Birmingham received its nickname Bombingham. Many people would think that a church, a place of God, would be the last place to be blown to pieces. Four people lost their lives the day of the bombing. The enemy didn’t seem to care about the people inside but the color of their skin. The Birmingham church bombing also brought influential people, major details surrounding the crisis, a difference in society, and a change in history.

A church is a safe place for most people, whether they are religious or not. A church should be a place where someone can pray freely to the god of their choosing and feel accepted by their religious community. However, on September 15th, 1963, four girls were killed by a terrorist bombing by four members of the Ku Klux Klan at the 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama . This horrific incident created a big impact not just in the town of Birmingham, but nationwide, as the civil rights movement was coming to a head in American politics, and in the social sphere. Dudley Randall, feeling so strongly about this event, chose to write a poem about it which, even today evokes strong emotions from the reader. Each line vividly and emotionally

At first in the first two stanzas, he describes African Americans girls feet sneaking throughout the streets of Harlem with little hope as he characterizes these feet as tired, trudging, and doing what they are told with no rest. In particular in lines nine and ten, the speaker states that even through the snow they have to carry themselves to tend to their tasks. Whereas in the last stanza, the speaker is blaming the world for the terrible dishonor and disgrace it has forced onto the black girls. Specifically in the last our lines, he feels heartbroken over the abominable things that the little, sacred feet of his race had to endure during the nights in Harlem. And it isn’t until the silver break of day, mentioned in line 7, that a glimpse of hope is seen when the atrocious acts are finished.

In the poem “Ballad of Birmingham”, by Dudley Randall, many different things can be analyzed. The difference in the two translations; one being a literal translation, telling the true meaning of the poem, and the other being a thematic translation, which tells the author’s theme and symbolism used in his/her work. Another thing that all poets have in common is the usage of poetic devices; such as similes, metaphors, and personification.

     The Ballad of Birmingham resembles a traditional ballad in that it tells a story in a song-like manner. The didactic tone seeks to teach us something; in this case it’s the theme of needless destruction. There are many devices the author uses to create such a tone and to tell such a story.

that in the first stanza, the mom shows great courage. This is because she explains that her life is not easy nor will her sons, but then throughout the rest of the poem she explains how she is climbing on and, that she had to do things that she has to do to get through and reach a goal. For example, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor-Bare.” That explains or shows courage or perseverance because she is explaining that her life hasn't been perfect.

“Ballad of Birmingham” is a poem written by Dudley Randall that was written in 1963. Reading the poem now, it takes readers back into the 1960’s time period and shows a look into the social and historical problems of the time. The poem “Ballad of Birmingham” features a historical context about The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing and a social context about the Civil Rights era. To begin with, “Ballad of Birmingham” is a poem that was written in response to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing. The poem features a mother and her little girl talking.

The Ballad of Birmingham; by Dudley Randall, is about a mother explaining to her child of why she is not allowed to go and partake in a march happening in downtown Birmingham, Alabama; this ballad was created around the time of the bombing of the 16th street Baptist Church where four African American little girls were killed in the midst of this bombing. It is interesting that the irony of the mother thinking she was doing the right thing by sending her child to church; a place where she thinks will give her little girl a sense of safety and will protect her from the harsh evil world that she is oblivious to, becomes the place that puts her child in harm’s way. This poem tells of the innocent lives taken away due to the

As the child is shocked and then immediately dives into grief as in lines eleven and twelve are repeated from the first stanza. The last two lines are important for it shows the pressure that Americans had on each other to achieve the “American Dream”. The father may have felt he could never achieve the myth of a white picket fence with a house in the suburban neighborhood in the 1950’s. The father may have thought the only way to escape the immense pressure is to commit suicide, to leave his child behind to face society and the daily life of being an

The main observation readers could take from this poem is that the “lower” individual has to take care of and pick up after the white man. It is even hinted at that the poems the mother chant rival the alleged master of poetry’s own works.

The folk classic “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall is a poem that speaks up about a tragedy using simple rhymes and lyrics. It’s clear that the ballad uses the Civil Rights Movement and the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing as its historical context.

At this point it seems as though the narrator is running out of logical reasons for his persuasive appeal. Fourth stanza, the daughter responds with words die and lie at the end of the third and fifth lines. The poet seems to hint at the idea of how the family disagree, even though they talk of patriotic images. The last stanza has the narrator respond with the words button, son, and kind. The narrator seems to use up his last bit of persuasive speaking of how humble the son is, like his mother of whom he most likely is talking to.