Frances E.W. Parker (1825-1911) was an African-American
poet who was active in the movement to abolish slavery. Her poem "The Slave Mother"
illustrates one of the cruelest aspects of slavery: that children could be separated
from their parents and sold to a different master.
The poem
begins with the sound of a shriek that "seemed as if a burden'd heart / Was breaking in
despair." The poem describes the frightened appearance of a slave woman and her young
son.
Stanzas 5-6 make effective use of anaphora: the
repetition of a phrase. The phrase "He is not hers" is repeated three times; this
emphasizes the point that although the mother's "blood / Is coursing through his veins,"
the boy does not legally belong to the mother, but rather to the slavemaster, who may
"rudely tear apart" this family by selling away the
child.
Stanzas 7-8 describe the great joy that the child
has brought to the mother.
In Stanza 9, the child is
forceably separated from his mother:
They tear him from her circling
arms,
Her last and fond
embrace.
Oh! never more may her sad
eyes
Gaze on his mournful
face.
The last stanza returns
to the child's shriek and even repeats the phrase "heart...breaking despair." This
creates symmetry in the poem's structure.
The poem is
written in stanzas of 4 lines (quatrains). The rhythm is consistent: Line 1 - 8
syllables, Line 2 - 6 syllables, Line 3 - 8 syllables, Line 4 - 6
syllables.
The rhyme scheme is also consistent:
abcb
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