An Analysis of the Poems Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall and Birmingham Sunday

I analyzed the poems "Ballad of Birmingham" authored by Dudley Randall and "Birmingham Sunday" authored by Langston Hughes. I will go into depth of the different tones used in each poem and how "Ballad of Birmingham" was more loving and ironic at the same time versus "Birmingham Sunday" giving off a tone of disgust, grief, and terrorism.

In the poem, "Ballad of Birmingham", the poem is told in dialogue. It's a dialogue between a mother and a daughter. In the beginning of the poem, the daughter is in desperation to go downtown to march the streets of Birmingham in a Freedom March to better the lives of the African Americans. The mother tells her not to go downtown, but instead to go to the church, which is understandable. The mother is extremely confident in the decision she is choosing for her daughter because when a church comes to mind, I think of safety. While reading, I could empathize with the mother and the child and see where they were both coming from. I was able to see why the mother wanted her daughter to go to church. When I think church, I think it's the last place that anyone would want to harm. She wanted to go to the March. The daughter in the poem states, "But mother, I won't be alone. Other children will go with me, And march the streets of

Birmingham, To make our country free." The daughter is anxious to make a change to her country. The mother shows her love by showing high concern. "No, baby, no, you may not go." She puts emphasis on the word no. She uses is twice. She is in high belief of the Freedom March being more dangerous than going to the church.

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The irony throughout the poem is also very obvious. The author uses situational throughout the poem. The situational irony is the difference in what is expected to happen and what actually happens. In the poem, the daughter wants to participate in the Freedom March, in downtown Birmingham. Her mom concludes that the March isn't a safe spot for her daughter, so she sends her to the church instead. The situational irony is that the mother expects that the church will be a safer spot for her little girl while the walk would not. What happens, in any case, is the inverse. The daughter is slaughtered at the bombing of the church and would have really been more secure at the Freedom March. Ironically a political rally was a much more secure spot than a church that day. This also indicated that a place of faith is no refuge or safe haven from worldly tragedies. The color white is a symbolism of the irony in this poem as well. She wore white gloves and white shoes. Ironically, this was a time of blacks being the target of the whites. The whites wanted black people dead so the author used white clothing on purpose to create that symbolism and irony.

The poem "Birmingham Sunday" by Langston Hughes is different than "Ballad of Birmingham" because it's not dialogue, but it's told from a narrator's point of view. The tones are also different. I noticed Langston Hughes is more explicit with his words throughout the poem. "But left instead their blood upon the wall with splattered flesh..." The tone is extreme disgust. This poem also gives the visual imagery of the four little girls who went to the church giving the tone of grief. This unexpected event at the most unexpected place leaves the emotion of sadness. "Four little girls who went to Sunday school that day and never came back home at all."

Unlike the poem, "Birmingham Sunday", I noticed that Langston Hughes uses the references to China a lot. He use the color "red" which is symbolism to communism in China.

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