The Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall Poetry, 1965

Which lines from the poem best demonstrates the tension?

• “But, mother, I won’t be alone."

• "She clawed through bits of glass and brick,

  Then lifted out a shoe. "

• "But that smile was the last smile"

• "And sing in the children’s choir.”

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How does the rhyme impact the poem?

Sample Stanza:

“Mother dear, may I go downtown

Instead of out to play,

And march the streets of Birmingham

In a Freedom March today?

• The mother is cautious in letting her daughter go downtown and the child wants to march but the rhyme does not show eagerness as much as light-heartedness.

• It shows that amid a difficult event joy can be experienced

• The rhyme presents a lilting, singsong feel of a nursery rhyme contrasting with the heavy topic of a church bombing.

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What line from the poem best supports the central idea that the mother believes her daughter will be safe in a place of worship?

• “No, baby, no, you may not go,

  For the dogs are fierce and wild,"

• “I fear those guns will fire. / But you may go to church instead,”

• "And clubs and hoses, guns and jails

  Aren’t good for a little child.”

• "And sing in the children’s choir.”

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What is ironic about the mother’s decision to send her child to sing in the church choir instead of to march on the streets?

• The mother doesn't believe in actvisim

• The mother believes protesting is not suitable for a child

• The mother believes her daughter will be safer singing in the choir than protesting in the streets.

• The mother believes children should never be alone

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Ballads have:

• a story, dialogue, simple language, four line stanzas, a tragic event

• Fourteen lines, are about love, iambic pentameter

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The dialouge is between:

• Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks

• A father and son

• A mother and daughter

• An aunt and an uncle

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What type of irony does the poem fall under?

• Dramatic Irony

• Verbal Irony

• Situational Irony

• None

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Why might the poet have included this irony?

• The poet might have included this element because it creates a greater sense of tragedy, or expresses the idea that no place is truly safe for black Americans during this time

• The poet was trying to challenge himself because using irony is difficult.

• Ironically, the poet didn't know he was using irony.

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