Poems consistently have target audiences. The way a poem is written matters on its target audience so that they can relate to the poem and also be able to understand it. Both "Strange fruit" and "Not my business" comprehend as they are finding this non violent way to inform people of what is happening around them without them being aware of it. On the other hand "Strange Fruit" was mainly aiming the poem at North Americans to be able to make a change in the way people see Black people because of the suffering they had. "Not my business" widened it's target audience to everyone who read poems to teach a lesson that you should always stand up for others' rights so maybe when your rights are being crushed you can have a helping hand reach out and save you. However the poet also chose the English language as this is an international language which most of the world speak therefore the poem can be read and easily accessed by lots of people around the world. This will help the sympathy and help around the world but also spreads the news faster.
The most crucial way that these poems convey violence in is by the language they use and how that language creates an image in the readers mind. "Strange fruit" uses a number of metaphors to be able to create the image of these horrific events in our minds. Using the metaphor “strange fruit” to describe the bodies hanging from the trees shows us how helpless and innocent these bodies are but also the typical associates of fruit is usually goodness and purity and suddenly as we read on we are disturbed by the images created, this is a form of juxtaposition as we believe fruit is a sign off goodness and suddenly the "Strange Fruit" is recreated as a sign of suffering.
Another frequent technique used in "Strange fruit" is harsh consonants. The use of the words like "sudden smell" in stanza eight creates a sound of evil in the reader's mind. When we say the words it reminds people of snakes and even in the bible snakes are the reason for sin and danger and using it here helps to understand that the poem is describing to us sin and danger and helps us to concentrate more to find more gruesome things. Using harsh consonants help create a mood of what is happening and empathize like we can see these events happening. Lastly another technique used in the language of "Strange fruit" is juxtaposition. "Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, then the sudden smell of burning flesh" Here as we read it an image of flowers and goodness is created in our mind which helps us to be calm; but then suddenly it describes and the mood changes with describing of the smell of the vile flesh. This is called juxtaposition. Here the poet first plants refreshing thoughts in our mind then unexpectedly changes the thoughts; this shock tactics are used in this poem which will help the reader to feel more sympathy and also this will help the reader take more notice and for the lines to stick in people's mind but also to show us that these were the actual images of the Southern states of America before it was polluted with Black bodies hanging form the trees. This has an intemperate effect on you to see the effects of these events. But also here it is being shown that from this beautiful scene and how suddenly these bodies have changed the scene unexpectedly. These are some of the ways that Lewis Allen portrays violence.
“Not my business" also uses its language to be able to portray violence. In this poem rhetorical questions are used to portray violence. "What business of mine is it as long as they don't take the yam from my savoring mouth?" The answer of this question is the title therefore it refers back to what it's all about how he does not care and believes it's not his business. Using this technique shows that the person involved in this poem does not care at all but also he uses the questions to be able to convince himself that this business is nothing to do with him and if he keeps to himself he won't have to face it that everything will change for the good! The sudden shock is created when he has to care as they are back for him this time. All this time of carelessness now who would care for him?
Another technique used here is metaphors for example when Akanni is described that they "beat him soft like clay." Using the word "clay" refers back to the bible that man is described to be made out of clay and to say that Akanni was beaten to that extent shows the seriousness and harshness in what has happened to the victim but also when someone uses clay they use it to mould it into shape this could be portrayed that as Akanni is beaten so badly that he is now being molded, the violence is the sign of manipulation and how Akanni is being used like a clay to be controlled. We can now imagine how what is left now is a lump of flesh as he has been beaten so badly.
Repetition is also used in this poem at the end of each stanza it is repeated how careless the person in this poem is as he has his food and life and does not consider other people. This even created hatred and violence in the audience's mind as you just want to teach that person a lesson to care as he does not know what will happen to him next. At the end he cannot say he does not care any more as they are back for him. Using repetition also built up tension as at the end. He uses the word "waiting" a lot in the last stanza which shows us he knows he is next but why won't he do something, at last he hears the knock. This gets our hearts beating but also gets us to panic with the victim, therefore it creates empathy. That is how these poems portray violence in the way they use language.
The structure of both “strange fruit” and “Not my business “compared to each other are very different. This is due to the fact that in "strange fruit" at the end of each line the words are rhyming couplets but in "Not my business" the structure is the same till the end where it varies. this shows change that has happened chronologically. The structure of "Strange fruit" portray violence as sometimes the line finish with emotive language which are harsh therefore it creates thoughts of violence in the readers minds for example 'flesh' and 'suck' as you can imagine the earth sucking the bodies of the dead back in. The poem uses the 5 senses to be able to relate with us and involve the audience "the scent of magnolias" which makes us imagine we can smell the sweet smell of burning flesh of the "bodies hanging from the Southern trees" the way the bodies are described helps us to picture them this involves our sight senses and we can almost feel like we are there and hear their scream and feel their pain. But also we can taste the bitterness and sorrow on our tongues of the tragic event of what is happening. “Not my business" uses its structure to help show how violence is created. In the first three stanzas' the layout of the poem is the same but in the last stanza we can see that it is short and varied. This grabs attention and also suggests that things have changed from a calm atmosphere to violence building. As through time things are the same as the character of the poem is careless about what is happening then at the end everything changes. This helps the audience realise change and violence throughout the poem.
In conclusion the two poems: "Strange fruit" and "Not my business" both portray violence in these five ways I have explained throughout my essay. The morale of the poem was to inform people to open their eyes to their surroundings and stand up for others rights but also that through the poems help could be given to victims. I believe that the most important way violence was portrayed in these poems were through the language that was used in the poems. This was because they were easy to understand but helped us to be involved by creating the images of what was happening in our own special way. On one hand both poems were identical in the way they portrayed violence through emotive language and words which stuck in the readers mind so they would have empathy. But on the other hand they portrayed violence in two different ways by the structure of the poems. "Strange fruit" uses rhyme at the end of lines to help words stay in the readers mind like 'mouth and south' but "Not my business uses a sudden change in the layout of the poem to show change and differ in the poem which leads to violence. In this essay if explained how both poems portrayed violence and their similarities and differences.
