Summary Of The Poem 'Ballad Of Birmingham'

The 1960s were a riotous decade for America, particularly for those who lived in the South. During this period, the South was under legalized racial segregation due to the influence of Jim Crow laws. In support to end these laws and establish civil rights for all Americans, protests, demonstrations, and marches took place across the country. However, as not everyone supported this movement, substantial backlash was inflicted upon many by those opposed to change.
Birmingham, Alabama, a city of the south, became a focus for the civil rights movement and several marches and protests took place in its streets – where even children marched for equality. But when four young girls died in a church bombing by white supremacists in response to the
Furthermore, to enhance this effect, alliteration is used within the poem: “For I fear those guns will fire” (14). In this line, the three F sounds, “for,” “fear,” and “fire,” are strung together and nearly imitate the forceful sound of a gun firing. The use of alliteration is also seen in line 26 when the reader discovers that the mother’s eyes are “wet and wild.” In this line, the sound of the double W’s grabs the attention of the reader and creates a pleasant sound to the ear, permitting the reader to further identify with the mother’s
The word “dear” reveals the admiration and love she has for her mother as she addresses her and the word “may” reveals the respect that she has for her mother. These two words expose the loving and endearing relationship that the mother and daughter have together, which sets the reader up to further identify emotionally with the mother later in the poem. Furthermore, this stanza is designed for the reader to feel drawn towards the daughter as first, the diction of her words helps the reader understand that she is of young age. This creates a soft and pure connection between the reader and the daughter that may have been different if she was older and not as innocent. And second, the daughter wants to go downtown and march for freedom “instead of out to play,” which shows the admirable and honorable character of the daughter that the reader instantly connects with as this behavior can be seen as unusual and surprising for many young