Swing Low, Go Down Moses, and Keep Your Hands on the Plow Analysis

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an African American spiritual poem that was popular in the Civil War era and the rest of the realist period(Swing 346). A spiritual song is a song that slaves would sing as they would in fields that were passed down orally from generation to generation. Though the writing style is simple and it also does not contain much figurative language, it reflects a characteristic or realism for this reason (Werlock). When realist authors write or make a work or poem, they will try to keep the writing style simple and not use much figurative language because they want the writing to be as clear and as easy for the reader or audience to understand as possible. Another way that this work reflects realism is how it represents the American Dream (Werlock). The idea of the American Dream in the realist period signified the idea of civil rights and freedom for all citizens except for slaves(Swing 346). This song was very popular among slaves just before the Civil War because it signified the concept that all slaves wanted which was freedom and civil rights. "Go Down Moses" is another spiritual African American song popular during the realist period(Go 347). Like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down Moses" is very simple and does not use much figurative language which, once again, reflects the realism behind it. This poem also represents the American Dream because it signifies the African American need for freedom in the United States like the first song lyrics. The one characteristic of realism that "Go Down Moses" does contain that the first song does not is that "Go Down Moses" contains a religious reference when referring to Moses(Go 347). This is a Christian reference that is contain in the Old Testament of the Bible(Go 347). Religion is a characteristic of Realism because during the times before the Civil War, slaves who were looking for answers in life turned to religion because they really had no other places to go to get a perspective on their lives (Werlock). "Keep Your Hands on the Plow" is another spiritual African American song that like the other two included in this blog, reflects realism because of the basic writing style of the lyrics. Like the others, the lyrics of this song are extremely basic and they also do not contain much figurative language which is a very common characteristic of realism. Like the lyrics to "Go Down Moses," the lyrics to "Keep Your Hands on the Plow" contain a religious reference. Since the songs relates to Jesus and speaks about Him a lot, there is an obvious Christian tie in these song lyrics(Keep 348). Also, like the other poems in this blog, this poem also represents the American Dream because of how the song lyrics reflects the want and need of freedom for African Americans (Werlock). These lyrics actually contain the idea of the Hero by how the writer of these lyrics speak about Jesus. The writer of these lyrics wants Jesus to look after him or her and set them free.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 346. Print.

"Go Down, Moses." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 347. Print.

"Keep Your Hand on the Plow." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 348. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/