“Go Down, Moses” is a poem that became a folk song, calling for the freedom of slaves in the US back in the nineteenth century. It links the story from the Bible with the situation happening in South America before the Civil War. The work constitutes of several poetic form elements which help to convey the right message. Repetition and rhyme play a critical role in making the poem meaningful and melodic.
The poem has repetitions that transmit the central theme: ending slavery in the country. The first noticeable repetition is the line “Let my people go” (Psalter Hymnal 1987). The phrase expresses the cry for help and the need to free the people from tyranny. Moreover, each time it is written to warn the political leader about the coming plague in the case of slaves not being released. From the Biblical story, the plague appeared ten times in total, and the line is repeated ten times, as well. The phrase emphasizes the urge for people’s independence in the southern part of the US and connects it with God’s command to Pharaoh in the Biblical story.
The rhyming of the poem makes it sound as a song. Each line has a perfect assonance rhyme, the similar sounds of vowels at the end. The writing contains many ‘o,’ ‘u,’ ‘ou’ as ‘go,’ ‘Moses,’ “Pharaoh,’ ‘God,’ ‘shore,’ ‘soar,’ ‘not’ add tunes to the poem. Similarly, there are words such as ‘people,’ ‘Egypt,’ ‘divide,’ ‘free,’ ‘flee’ which have ‘e’ and ‘ai’ front vowel sounds that alternate with back vowel sounds.
In conclusion, “Go Down, Moses” comprises two significant elements of poetic form. The repetition of one phrase all over the text and alternating front and back vowel rhymes convert the work into a reference to the story plot in the Bible and make the writing melodic. The poem addresses the issue of slavery of African Americans in the nineteenth century and associates it with the religious book’s narration.
Reference
Psalter Hymnal. 1987. “Go Down, Moses.” Hymnary.org. Web.