Southern History
By Natasha Trethewey
Before the war, they were happy, he said.
quoting our textbook. (This was senior-yearhistory class.) The slaves were clothed, fed,
and better off under a master’s care.I watched the words blur on the page. No one
raised a hand, disagreed. Not even me.It was late; we still had Reconstruction
to cover before the test, and — luckily —three hours of watching Gone with the Wind.
History, the teacher said, of the old South —a true account of how things were back then.
On screen a slave stood big as life: big mouth,bucked eyes, our textbook’s grinning proof — a lie
my teacher guarded. Silent, so did I.
Summary of Southern History
- Popularity of “Southern History”: This 14-lined concise poem “Southern History” by Natasha Trethewey, a popular American poet laureate, is an interesting narrative poetic piece. The poem first appeared in 2007 in her book, Native Guard Poems. The poetic uniqueness of this narrative poetic piece lies in defying the popular school narratives that the white race has treated the slaves with honor and respect and showing the lie of these textbooks exposed by the same textbooks through pictures given on the same pages.
- “Southern History” As a Representative of Racial Discrimination and Slavery: The poet opens the poem with a bang saying the teacher was quoting the Civil War and how the slaves were very happy and that they had had cordial relations with their masters who properly fed and clothed them. However, the poet does not see the truth in these lines, for history books other than these textbooks do not speak about these cordial relations, while the reality of the political situation also defies this narrative. When the class reaches Reconstruction after the Civil War, the students come to know more about history through movies and true accounts that things about slavery were not as taught in the initial books. They also watch different paintings depicting the reality of slavery during Reconstruction but the poet has nothing else to do except to keep her mum, for students often do not defy teachers and do respond to them during pedagogic activities.
- Major Themes in “Southern History”: False narratives, bitter realities, and racial discrimination during slavery are three major thematic strands of this poem. The poem shows this use of false narratives the public schools feed the students with in the initial lines given in italics. Later, the students also see the same things, though, the meanings of the words show different things. When, however, they reach the upper classes, they watch movies that depict reality such as Gone With the Wind, and are better able to decipher history books and paintings. Then they come to know that the grinning faces of the slaves that the teachers are lying about. Yet, the students stay silent out of respect that the teachers should not feel ashamed at telling lies about this naked racial discrimination.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Southern History”
literary devices are integral parts of poetic or prose writings. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows how important they are.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /a/ in “Before the war, they were happy, he said”, /o/ in “three hours of watching Gone with the Wind” and the sound of /i/ in “my teacher guarded. Silent, so did I.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /s/ in “slave stood.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /w/ in “I watched the words blur on the page”, /w/ and /l/ in “It was late; we still had Reconstruction” and the sound of /t/ and /n/ in “a true account of how things were back then.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
a true account of how things were back then.
On screen a slave stood big as life: big mouth,bucked eyes, our textbook’s grinning proof — a lie
my teacher guarded. Silent, so did I.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “I watched the words blur on the page”, “a true account of how things were back then” and “bucked eyes, our textbook’s grinning proof —.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphor screens and textbooks, comparing them with the world and life.
- Personification: The poet has shown the use of the screen and textbooks as if they have life and emotions of their own. The poet has personified them in the poem.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of war, history, and reconstruction for life and its rejuvenation.
- Simile: The poem shows the use of similes such as “a slave stood as big as life.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Southern History”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse poem.
- Meter: The poem shows ten syllables in each line which is the use of pentameter such as Before the war, they were happy, he said. / quoting our textbook. (This was senior-year.”
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Southern History” are relevant to use when teaching about national narratives and lies behind them.
a true account of how things were back then.
On screen a slave stood big as life: big mouth,bucked eyes, our textbook’s grinning proof — a lie
my teacher guarded. Silent, so did I.
