Analysis of Slave Poems

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down, Moses," and "Keep Your Hand on the Plow" are three other Realism works that were made during the time of slavery in the South. These works are three songs or poetry style works that are were written and passed down by the slaves during times of hardship and slavery in order to keep their morale high. Although these songs were not able to be written down until much later because the slaves were not permitted to be educated in any form, especially reading and writing, they were passed down the generations through word of mouth.

These poems or songs were written about the same area, a plantation in the south, and therefore they can be defined as works of Regionalism, a subgenre of the bigger Realism (Anderson, Baughman, Bruccoli, and Rollyson). The words and vernacular that are used in these poems are a reflection of the area in which they were written, which is a characteristic of Regionalism. The importance of Regionalism was that it enables the reader to feel more like he or she is in a familiar place or time. By incorporating familiar phrases and ideas, the work feels more legitimate and true (Anderson, Baughman, Bruccoli, and Rollyson).

Another important idea in these three poems was their common idea of uplifting one another in order to keep morale high. Some of the poems specifically referenced ideas of rescue or freedom that are found in the Christian Bible. For example "Go Down Moses," is a reference to a story in the book Exodus found within the Bible that details the deliverance of God's people out of slavery in Egypt ("Go"). It is therefore understandable that the reference of such miraculous rescues were a popular idea among the slaves wishing for their freedom. Most of the songs written by the slaves in some way detail praise and worship for God and discuss the way in which they have faith that he will deliver them.

In these poems it is obvious that the slaves are not well educated and therefore can only express themselves in a limited way with language. For this reason many of their writings were not intricately detailed ordeals, but rather they were simple songs of supplication and faith in their God. There was a lot of repetition of lines, such as in "Go Down Moses," where every stanza ends with "let my people go" ("Go"). In this way their song is powerful emotionally and also illustrates their point successfully with repetition.

The use of a common slave as a narrator in these stories also reflects Realism. Because they are not the well-educated narrators of the past, they are more real and relatable to everyday people. In this instance, the songs were simply designed for other slaves in order to keep their morale high, and the songs were very successful in doing so. Therefore they achieved their intended purpose of their projected audience and were easy for the others to relate to. This is another objective of Realism as well as its subgenre Regionalism (Anderson, Baughman, Bruccoli, and Rollyson).


Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds."regionalism." Encyclopedia of American Literature: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, vol. 3, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1330&SingleRecord=True. February 8, 2011.

"Go Down, Moses." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg 347.

"Keep Your Hand on the Plow." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg 348.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg 346.