The poem “Ballad Of Birmingham” is inspired by a true event which is why it makes it significant. It is about an innocent little girl who wanted to go to a march to make a change for her country. Although she was not allowed because her mother thought it was not safe for her daughter to go onto the streets of Birmingham by herself with a lot of strangers. Her mother then sent her to the church as she thought it was a safer place for her precious daughter. The little girl was unfortunately killed in an attack at the church.
In the poem Dudley Randall starts by using dialogue in the first 4 stanzas. This in which introduces the characters that are in the poem and their characteristics. The way the little girl is speaking in the first stanza tells the reader she seems to be posh, innocent and a mummy’s girl. The vocabulary she is using tells us she wants rights for everyone. The mother’s word of speech is very assertive and protective as she is repetitive with the same vocabulary such as “No, baby, no.”
The words and phrases that describe the young girl were sweet, innocent, and kind are the following. “May I go” displays an example that she is asking in a very sweet way. Another example is the part where the narrative is telling the story which is stanza 5. The narrative uses descriptions like “white gloves on her small brown hands and white shoes on her feet.” This tells us she is still little because of her hands and that she is innocent because of the white gloves and shoes, as the colour white symbolizes purity and innocence.
Throughout this poem the technique used is dialogue and third person (narrative). The effect of this technique is to split the poem. This was effective in this poem as the poem layout is symmetrical, meaning every stanza has 4 lines and the poem is split in half from the narrative and the third person which created symmetry.
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