The Voice In Dudley Randall's Ballad Of Birmingham

Ballad Of Birmingham
In Dundley Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham,” a mother-daughter debate over the freedom march breathes the characters into life by empowering them with exclusive voices. Furthering the mother and daughter’s story through a third voice, Randall introduces the narrator’s cold and callous voice in the fifth stanza. The voices in the ballad emotionally connect the readers to the characters and the bombing of Birmingham. Eager to attend the freedom march, the animated voice of the daughter bursts into the scene begging her mother for permission to “... march the streets of Birmingham In a Freedom March today?” After swift dismissal from her mother, the daughter pleads further:
But, mother, I won’t be alone.
Other children

Most readers of Dudley Randall’s “Ballad Of Birmingham” have said or heard the “But mom…” before and so this use of voice brings life to the daughter and mother. By using a relatable spoken phrase, Dudley Randall creates an atmosphere where the reader feels connected with the daughter.
The mother’s great concern for her daughter is relatable as well in the poem. Readers of the Ballad of Birmingham who have children will strongly relate to the mother’s spoken concern for her daughter’s safety:
“No, baby, no, you may not go,
For the dogs are fierce and

raced through the streets of Birmingham\ calling for her child.” The narrator’s bluntness and lack of sympathy further magnifies the reader’s perception of the tragedy. By omission of sympathetic words in favor of straightforward words, the narrator’s voice pushes the reader to recognize the bombing of