“Thus spoke the Lord,” bold Moses said;

If not I’ll smite your first born dead,

A well known African-American spiritual amongst all races, generations and religions throughout the United States, “Go Down, Moses” was originally created as a way for slaves in the 19th century to release their thoughts and emotions. This folk song was drawn from the biblical story of Moses and the Jewish slaves in Egypt in order to hide the real message behind the poem from the slave-owners. Because this poem is widely known, containing themes and symbols easy to follow, I would expect a published analysis of the piece to introduce new and more in-depth topics, rather than to restate the obvious. Unfortunately, Erica Smith’s analysis of “Go Down, Moses” does just that (restate the obvious), and when she does briefly introduce new points, they are weak and not useful to her overall argument. For instance, although she does insert a sporadic sentence or two in each paragra

As Smith continues to touch briefly on the syntax of the poem, it would have been beneficial for her to compare it with another freedom call. In reading “Go Down, Moses”, I found myself comparing it to the works of modern African-Americans who continue to discuss civil rights. Contemporary spirituals can be found in the works of Langston Hughes, more specifically in his poem “Negro”. “Negro” is meant to be recited in a similar tone and manner as “Go Down, Moses”; both resemble hearing a church service, as they are composed in the “call-and-response” preaching style used to convey a meaningful feeling. Although Hughes doesn’t use a refrain in between each stanza, as in “Moses”, he uses the same format in each stanza: line “A” – a declaration, lines “B and C” – metaphors and descriptions of past endurances. In addition, his subject matter is also similar to that of “Go Down, Moses” when he discusses slavery in Egypt and uses it as a metaphor the manners in which slaves were treated in the United States in the 19th century. Had Smith included a comparison, such as the one above, her points would have been much stronger and forceful.

From the discussion of the Civil War and on, Smith’s weak arguments and paraphrasing, are a waste of time. She explains that, “the song unfolds as a vivid and poetic story.” (Smith 55) Indeed, we know that the song is “vivid and poetic”. How so? What is behind the lines? Is there a theme, other than the obvious call for freedom? Her explanation of additional, less-common verses is also dry, “The assuredness of the singers also mingles with a sorrowful insight.” (Smith 55). Smith’s essay is unraveled completely by the end. As an alternative, Smith should have discussed less evident material, behind the obvious. We know that the poem rhymes. Smith should have introduced answers as t

Some topics in this essay:
Langston Hughes, Erica Smith’s, Jews” African-American, War Smith’s, Erica Smith, Israel Egypt’s, Civil War, Moses Jewish, Harriet Tubman, Lovell Smith, “go moses”, african-american slaves, smith 55, wisdom encouraging brave”, attitude wisdom, harriet tubman, “‘go moses’, story moses, “these jews”, attitude wisdom encouraging, smith discussed, portion essay,