“Strange Fruit” is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday, who first sang and recorded it in 1939. The poet plays with language in this poem through sarcasm, irony, and metaphors. In The Guardian news article by Caryl Phillips He says, "Meeropol was motivated to write the poem after seeing a photograph of two black teenagers, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, who had been lynched in Marion, Indiana on August 7 1930. Essay by Cary O’Dell . “Strange Fruit”—Billie Holiday (1939) Added to the National Registry: 2002 . The detachment of the lyric -- "Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees" -- is juxtaposed with the vocal emotion of Holiday, who was said to … Taste | Smell | Eating | See also. and bitter crop D. Scarlino c. 2002. Metaphors are used to depict the bodies hanging from the trees as “strange fruit” (l. 1, l. 4), “the fruit… Metaphors, taste and smell . The Voice of Billie Holiday Essay Billie Holiday Strange Fruit - Metaphor of Terror; 9-11's a LIE; Obama Admits He Is A Muslim; Bob Chapman - 401K and IRA Confiscation; Gibson Guitar Corp. Usually used as pejoratives, the terms have also been re-appropriated as insider terms of endearment within LGBT communities. First recorded in 1939, the protest song “Strange Fruit” came to articulate the racism and brutality of lynching* endured by so many in the United States, particularly in the south. When Holiday decided to sing "Strange Fruit," the song reached millions of people. These documents are a photograph and a song. Once Holiday added it to her repertoire, some of its sadness seemed to cling to her; as she deteriorated physically, the song took on new poignancy and immediacy. Register to read the introduction… The man behind "Strange Fruit" is a man from New York City named Abel Meeropol. The title “Strange Fruit” in itself is a metaphor for the victims of lynching, these victims were mainly African Americans, and some were not even put to trial before they were sentenced death. Taste and smell are very closely related in our gustatory sensation system. “Strange Fruit” fulfilled its function to provide a grim but effective metaphor for the lynchings taking place with the help of some dark imagery comparing the lynched Americans to fruit dying on a vine as an entire generation of young black men were being culled like a … While the lyrics never mention lynching, the metaphor is painfully clear: Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit … By using a metaphor instead of writing the what the poet really sees, he describes the scene better, since the readers may not be used to see dead bodies hang on trees but they are definitely familiar with fruits being hang up on the trees. "Strange Fruit" often gets noticed for what we think are probably the wrong reasons. Considering the vivid images and sustained metaphor of the song “Strange Fruit,” it shouldn’t be surprising that it began as a poem. Billie Holiday was a famous blues sin… Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Strange Fruit Poem Analysis. Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. "That strange fruit is still out there, just in a different form," says Simeon Wright, who believes racism against young black men is still all too prevalent in American society. This gap generated by racism, took drastic forms in the practice of lynching. Billie Holiday Original label Abel Meeropol . Extended metaphor “Hope is the thing with feathersThat perches in the soul,And sings the tune–without the words,And never stops at all, “And sweetest in the gale is heard;And sore must be the stormThat could abash the little birdThat kept so many warm. As the song progresses, a much deeper interpretation of racial prejudice emerges. “Strange fruit hanging from the poplar. The night before they had been charged with … 10/05/2009 09:49:00 PM Background Strange Fruit Strange fruit was written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish school teacher and union activist The most obvious metaphor used in the poem is the “strange fruit” which is used to replace the dead bodies of black Americans hanging on the poplar trees. The keyword for both documents is “contrast”: in fact, it illustrates the large gap, separating Black and White communities in theAmerican South after the Civil War and before the Civil Rights Movement. When Holiday decided to sing "Strange Fruit," the song reached millions of people. The poem 'Strange Fruit' is essentially a poem protesting about the inequality that black people face. Playing with the language. While the lyrics never mention lynching, the metaphor is painfully clear: Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Then suddenly everybody was clapping.” Context out of Which the Song Grew Films Metaphors Reference a tree or a shrub with typically creamy pink Written by a white, Jewish high school teacher from the Bronx and a member of the Communist Party, Abel Meeropol wrote it as a protest poem, exposing American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans. Abel Merropol's purpose was to shock the reader, grabbing their attention and while doing so describing the treatment of the black people of the Southern states in Northern America that was not widely known. STRANGE FRUIT – Price List. The central metaphor allowed a dangerous taboo to be discussed nearly thirty years before Nina Simone and Dylan would sing about Medgar Evers. Strange Fruit: Anniversary Of A Lynching On Aug. 7, 1930, two young African-American men were lynched by a mob in Marion, Ind. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh. The use of the words strange fruit is used as a metaphor comparing the fruit from WMST 2410H at Trent University Techniques > Use of language > Metaphor > Metaphors, taste and smell. Strange Fruit Billie Holiday Strange Fruit is a song famously sung by Billie Holiday, first recorded by Holiday in 1939. Literary Analysis Theme Imagery Personification “There wasn’t even a patter of applause… Then a lone person began to clap nervously. This song has been praised for being the first successful attempt at the blues by a white man (The New Masses).That's interesting, although also pretty arguable. Formally, it is using metaphor and metonymy. There are four basic tastes: Sweet, sour, bitter, and salt. Fruit is lovely thing,but this song discribed bloody,painful. Continue Reading. "Strange Fruit" is a song recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, written by Abel Meeropol and published in 1937. ... "Strange Fruit" Unusual Fruit: Kiwi as Metaphor This beautiful and strange creature has become common to our supermarkets, but only since the 1980’s after undergoing a name change and some pretty heavy marketing… who says that fruits don’t need publicity managers? “Strange Fruit” was first published in 1937, ... Meeropol’s lyrics never mention the word “lynching,” although the metaphor is clear, notes NPR. Here is a strange. It protests the lynching of Black Americans, with lyrics that compare the victims to the fruit of trees.Such lynchings had reached a peak in the Southern United States at the turn of the 20th century, and the great majority of victims were black. Fruit and fruitcake, as well as many variations, are slang or even sexual slang terms which have various origins but modern usage tend to primarily refer to gay men and sometimes other LGBT people. They don't teach us about "Strange Fruit" in school, nor that bodies are still hanging #baltimore Like Ace Metaphor fruit is metaphor of people's beatiful lives, because of their skin.All things became strange,terrible and even bloody. "Strange Fruit" marked a watershed, praised by some, lamented by others, in Holiday's evolution from exuberant jazz singer to chanteuse of lovelorn pain and loneliness. Strange Fruit was not the first popular song to deal with race. Strange Fruit Lyrics: Southern trees / Bearing strange fruit / Blood on the leaves / And blood at the roots / Black bodies / Swinging in the southern breeze / Strange fruit hangin' / From the poplar Figurative Language & Sound Devices There were other figurative languages and sound devices used in the poem such as consonance, rhyme, justaposition, and alliteration. Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Strange Fruit Lyrics: Southern trees bear a strange fruit / Blood on the leaves and blood at the root / Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze / Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees In Billie Holiday's song "Strange Fruit," the theme demonstrates the horror of lynching in post-Civil War America in the Deep South. Strange Fruit. And published in 1937 terms of endearment within LGBT communities 1939, written by Abel Meeropol and published in.! 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