Analysis Of Sweat Of We Must Dress The Soil By Frederick Douglass

1. The voice of whom is depicted in the poem is that of a Negro slave from Africa, we can see this from line 2, stanza 1 which reads “Afric’s coast I left forlorn” the significance of this choice of narrator is that it allows for a first-hand account of the emotion and experiences of a slave, this engages the reader on a more personal level and encourages them to think from different perspectives about slavery and adopt a more sympathetic view of the slave, which in turn would lay the seeds of uncertainty within the morals and beliefs of individuals.

2. The personification which is present in stanza 3 line 20 which reads “Sweat of ours must dress the soil.” This can be used in the speakers argument against slavery as it creates an image of the
The writer appeals to the sense of morality and sympathy in line 1 stanza 1 “Forc’d from home and all its pleasures, Afric’s coast i left forlorn.” This shows that the slaves had homes and lived like many other Europeans not as luxuriously but as equals on the basic necessities such as the necessity of having a home and all the pleasures that accompany it, and changed the thinking that slaves were mindless beasts living in caves. In Lines 15 and 16 the writer says “Skins may differ, but affection Dwells in black and white the same.” This shows the readers that the slaves which were black may have had different skin colours but still felt the same emotions and feelings of the white slave owners, which showed people they were not merely beasts that did not feel emotions or affections but were in fact as human as their white masters. The speaker then appeals to the logic of religion and emotions of a religious view, in stanza 4 lines 25 til 32 “Is there, as ye sometimes tell us....Agents of his will to use.” This appeals to everyone that believes in Christianity, asking them is this what God has asked his people to do, and the writer questions the actions of their white masters to the words and beliefs of their