Strange Fruit Ap Language

Published in 1937, Strange Fruit was written by Abel Meerpol under the pseudonym Lewis Allan. The poem, inspired by a photograph of a lynching in America, protested racism and expressed Meerpol’s horror at the violence associated with it. Strange Fruit is set in a time and place where racism was rife. Despite the decline of the Ku Klux Klan, racially motivated lynching continued to be used to terrorize the black community while allowing white Americans to regain their sense of status.

Fifteen years before the American civil rights movement gained momentum, Strange Fruit was made famous by jazz musician Billie Holiday, who used the song’s message at a time when sociopolitical protest was not often expressed in music. Employing haunting imagery,

Meerpol explores the terror of racial prejudice in 1930’s America, while creating a piece that confronts and challenges the reader.

The introductory line of the poem is the first instance where one of the most significant language techniques is used.

The use of the metaphor strange fruit has been applied to represent the bodies who had been hanged. This not only creates imagery, but also acts to dehumanize the victims, something which continues onto the third line. Here the line reads “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze” and is the only reference to race within the whole poem, yet it remains a central theme for the reader to reflect on. Meerpol has also harnessed sound techniques throughout the poem in order to create rhythm. An example of this technique is seen at the end of each line, where the final word of each line rhymes with the following. Similarly, the first stanza also uses assonance, thus creating a musical effect which can be seen at the end of the first and second lines where “fruit” and “root” have been used. The meaning of the poem has been highlighted in the second line which reads “Blood on the leaves and blood at the root.” The blood on the leaves represents that which was shed recently, while the blood on the root suggests a deeply rooted issue that has been present for

centuries.

Meerpol has created somber mood in each stanza, which highlights the confronting and challenging nature of the poem.

This can be seen in the first line of the second stanza which reads “Pastoral scene of the gallant south.” This not only refers to the setting of the poem but also harnesses irony, as the idea of the gallant south is contradicted by the following lines of the poem. The next line describes the “bulging eyes and twisted mouth”, which continues the use of imagery by create a disturbing and gruesome picture to evoke an emotional response from the reader. The third and fourth line of the second stanza uses the senses in order to create contrast. The line “Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh” is then interrupted by “the sudden smell of burning flesh.” Within the fourth line Meerpol has also used alliteration in this line with the use of the letter ‘s’. Additionally, these sounds have been repeated in the last two lines for example scent (sɛnt), sweet (swiːt) and fresh (frɛʃ). This use of sibilance creates soft and gentle sounds, which continues to develop the somber mood of the poem. This also enhances the effect of contrast, therefore creating further conflict for the reader when faced with the horrifying

imagery.

The third stanza contrasts the second in its use of sound. Rather than using soft sounds, harsh sounds such as that in pluck (plʌk) and bitter (ˈbɪtə)
have been employed, giving the poem a different mood. This stanza has also been structured and written to give it the nature of a cycle, through the use of the seasons. Each line is representative of a season, for example the line “for the sun to rot, for the trees to drop” signifies summer. By doing this Meerpol has referred to the cycle of racism.

Strange Fruit is a model example of how poetry can be used to convey a deeper message or meaning. It uses a number of language and sound techniques such as imagery, metaphor and rhyme in a way that allows the poem to maintain its rhythm and somber mood. Since it was first published, Abel Meerpol’s poem Strange Fruit has had a significant influence on art and its relationship with politics, raising the public’s awareness of social issues. The poem’s content continues to confront readers with the horrific history of racism in America.