The speaker of the poem The Slave Mother by Frances E. W. Harper is actually the author. The author is speaking in third person of a slave mother who is losing a child. This poem is symbolic of the slave mother’s loss of her child. The mother uses words that describe her emotional feelings about the loss showing her grieving and pain. I feel like this poem is focusing more on her emotional feelings rather than the actual physicality of her son being taken from her. She states specifically, “As if a storm of Agony were sweeping through the brain.” By stating this line, she is showing how this is taking over her mind and crippling her emotionally. This poem is very relatable for the time period, which I think, makes it very strong and endearing. It is very common for a child of a slave to feel like, “he is not hers, although she bore him”(17). It is with quotes like these that you really feel a strong pathos for the poor woman and are drawn in. The speaker (Harper) is making a testimony for the slave mother. It is hard to grasp the thought of losing a child and the only ones who truly can feel this sense of sorrow are slaves who have had the experience which is why this is a testimony. Harper ends with the lines “she is a mother and her heart is breaking in despair.” This line concludes the poem well by informing us that she will not be getting her child back and her heart will be left broken for all eternity.
So what is Harper's purpose in using "words" to describe the slave mother's feelings? What impact is she hoping to have on her audience/readers?
ReplyDeleteI think she was trying to get her audience to relate as closely as possible because, like I said in my original post, there is no way for someone to fully relate if they have not been in her position. I think her main point was to demonstrate the emotional struggle and loss with her words. They seemed to be well picked out to make sure the main thought would be 'emotional' rather than a 'physical' crippling.
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