Literary Analysis of the
The spirituals are the religious folk songs created and first sung by a circumscribed community of African Americans in bondage. The lyrics of Negro spirituals were tightly linked with the lives of their authors: slaves. The influence of these spirituals began as slaves were allowed to meet at churches for Christian services. Spirituals were inspired by the message of Jesus Christ and his Good News of the Bible, "You can be saved". Rural slaves used to gather and listen to itinerant preachers and sing spirituals for hours. The Protestant City-Revival Movement of 1850 allowed the organization of revival meetings by temporary tents that were erected in stadiums, where attendants could sing. During slavery and afterwards, workers were allowed to sing songs while working to express personal feeling and cheer on each other. Negro spirituals like "Wade in the Water" and "The Gospel Train" directly refers to the Underground Railroad. The early spirituals were a way of sharing the hard condition of being a slave, whereas the late spirituals were rearranged in a new way, which was similar to the European classical music. Typical spirituals reflect the African heroic epic in form, content, and performance style, which consists of long narra
This stanza also implies that the Lord wanted all sinners to meet Him there face-to-face. The spiritual "Witness for My Lord" depicts testimonies of how powerful God really is, through His ability to take away certain characteristics from an individual (Methuselah). In "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot / Coming for to carry me home" the slaves often prayed that the Lord would come and take them to heaven on His sweet chariot. The spiritual "He's got The Whole World in His Hands" represents the Africans belief that God is the source of everything. They felt that He is the cause of everything that went on in their lives. "Over My Head, I Hear Music in the Air" told the story of how David, a shepherd boy, fought and defeated the giant Goliath. This story made the slaves feel as though they could overcome anything. Cause He built twelve gates-a to city Spirituals often reflect on stories told from the bible to show how God affected the slaves' everyday lives. The lines "My home is over Jordan" and "Lord, I want to cross over into campground" in the spiritual "Deep River" are using the Jordan river as a comparison to the bridge you would have to cross to enter into heaven. The third stanza of "Oh What A Beautiful City" referred to how beautiful heaven is: It seems as if the individual wants to escape to such pleasant place in which he would not suffer any more. He is telling the Lord that he "…wants to cross over into campground" possibly in attempt to escape from dreadful surroundings. The old spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" shares similar symbolism, portrayed by a runaway slave.
Some topics in this essay:
Gospel Train,
Beautiful City,
Christian God,
Harvest Pass,
Deep River,
Sweet Chariot,
Underground Railroad,
Battle Norman,
Jessye Norman,
Promised Land,
negro spirituals,
gospel train,
beautiful city,
oh beautiful,
spirituals tell,
promised land,
surface meaning,
implied meaning,
oh beautiful city,
sweet chariot,
form worship god,
deep river,
low sweet chariot,
built-a dat city,
swing low sweet,
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Approximate Word count = 1650
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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