Compare and contrast the ways that “Birmingham Sunday” and “Ballad of Birmingham” each responds to the church bombing and the themes of both works. Use evidence from both readings to defend your analysis.

Answer:

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: While “Birmingham Sunday” was a folk song meant to create community and enable the community to mourn together, the “Ballad of Birmingham” was initially published as a poem to affirm the significance of activism. While “Birmingham Sunday” lamented the injustice of the destruction of youth and the death of the four young girls (named in the poem), “Ballad of Birmingham” uses irony to remind everyone that there is no safe haven from injustice. The mother did not want her daughter to risk her life to march for freedom, but the consequences of racism still affected both mother and daughter. While “Birmingham Sunday” ends by affirming the fight for freedom, “And the choirs keep singing of Freedom” despite the pain of loss, the “Ballad of Birmingham” ends with a warning: both the protesters and those who want to avoid risk still suffer the same consequences of hate. The theme changes slightly due to the genre. While the first song’s message is clearly meant as a mourning song to unite multiple listeners (“Come round by my side, and I’ll sing you a song”), the poem’s message is one of warning and awareness. The latter takes quiet contemplation to understand the irony.