The poem ‘Ballad of Birmingham’ was written in response to the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This poem starts with an innocent conversation between an African-American Mother and daughter, and finishes with a horrid act of racial violence. The two are conversing with one another about attending a freedom march however her mother insists her daughter may not attend as ‘the dogs are fierce and wild.’ This poem shows a comparison between an event which is supposed to be peaceful and safe which turned into something full of hatred and violence.
I think Dudley Randall wrote this poem to express the shock and horror he felt about the 1963 bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. I think he may have felt very strongly about this event as he is a black man who may have experienced similar racial discrimination throughout his life.
The words and phrases which make me realise the young girl is sweet and innocent is in stanza five when the poem is describing what the young girl is wearing and what she looks like. “She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair, and bathed rose petal sweet, and drawn white gloves on her small brown hands, and white shoes on her feet.” This shows that she is dressed in all white which is often used as a symbol for purity. In this stanza it also says that the girl is ‘bathed rose petal sweet.’ This clearly shows that the girl is innocent and sweet because flowers are commonly used to symbolise loveliness.
Throughout this poem Dudley Randall uses many techniques to improve this poem. A few of these are alliteration, assonance and metaphors. Alliteration is used to emphasise and draw attention to a particular part of a poem. It is used to show emotion. For example alliteration can be used to give a poem a calm, gentle feeling or a loud, sharp feeling. “Her eyes grew wet and wild” is a great example of alliteration used in this poem as it draws attention to the mother’s grief of losing her daughter. Assonance is used to create a flow and rhythm within the poem. “No, baby, no, you may not go” is an example of assonance. It slows the reader down which draws attention to this line in the poem. Metaphors are a very important aspect to many poems because they show the reader what the author feels and means. A metaphor creates a picture in the reader’s mind which helps the reader to see ideas being portrayed in the poem more clearly. “For the dogs are fierce and wild” is a great metaphor in this poem because it shows why the mother does not want her daughter attending the freedom march.
Another technique that Dudley Randall used while writing this poem was the change between dialogue and narration. At the start of this poem it shows the girl asking her mother if she can go to the freedom march. This shows emotion, however, on the other hand narration is generally used to tell a story. Dudley Randall switches between dialogue and narration because it brings more effect to the poem and it is constantly making the reader think about what is happening.
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