Question

Read the poem below and answer the question that follows.

“Birmingham Sunday”
by Richard Fariña
Come round by my side and I’ll sing you a song.
I’ll sing it so softly, it’ll do no one wrong.
On Birmingham Sunday the blood ran like wine,
And the choir kept singing of Freedom.
That cold autumn morning no eyes saw the sun,
And Addie Mae Collins, her number was one.
At an old Baptist church there was no need to run.
And the choir kept singing of Freedom,
The clouds they were grey and the autumn winds blew,
And Denise McNair brought the number to two.
The falcon of death was a creature they knew,
And the choir kept singing of Freedom,
The church it was crowded, but no one could see
That Cynthia Wesley’s dark number was three.
Her prayers and her feelings would shame you and me.
And the choir kept singing of Freedom.
Young Carol Robertson entered the door
And the number her killers had given was four.
She asked for a blessing but asked for no more,
And the choir kept singing of Freedom.
On Birmingham Sunday a noise shook the ground.
And people all over the earth turned around.
For no one recalled a more cowardly sound.
And the choir kept singing of Freedom.
The men in the forest they once asked of me,
How many black berries grew in the Blue Sea.
And I asked them right back with a tear in my eye.
How many dark ships in the forest?
The Sunday has come and the Sunday has gone.
And I can’t do much more than to sing you a song.
I’ll sing it so softly, it’ll do no one wrong.
And the choirs keep singing of Freedom.
Which of the following best describes the structure of this poem?
ballad
free verse
sonnet
blank verse

Answer 1

Hi. This was a song written about four little girls who were killed in Birmingham and can be classified as a ballad. Hope this helps.

Take care,
Diana

Answer 2

Answer: The right answer is the A) Ballad.

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that none of the other options are correct, since this poem has verses that rhyme and it has more than fourteen lines. This poem is a ballad, a narrative song that recounts a very tragic event — the death of four African American adolescents when their church in Birmingham, AL, was bombed on September 15, 1963. Apart from the narrative structure, it also features the characteristic repetition of lines, specifically the repetition of the line "And the choirs kept singing of Freedom."