Strange Fruit Poem Meaning

“Strange Fruit” Poetry Analysis
Abel Meeropol wrote the poem “Strange Fruit” in 1937 and was sung and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1937. It was during this time in the South were discrimination took a turned to a vehement bloodshed. The practice of lynching grew very notorious in the South, and a picture of two lynched bodies, terrified and haunted Abel until he wrote his poem :strange Fruit”. Alas, the powerful imagery in Abel Meeropol poem reveals the brutal reality of racism in America during the early to mid 1900’s.
The poem, “Strange Fruit” is about how black lynching, in its most rawest state, and how it is in great conflict with the empirical view of the South held by many. This quote shows the harsh contradiction between the idea of South and the truth, “Pastoral

The whole poem is a large metaphor, which is a direct comparison. The two elements that were being compared were “strange fruit” and black lynched bodies. An example is, “Black bodies swinging’ in the Southern breeze/ Strange fruit hanging’ from the poplar tree”(Meeropol 3-4). This expercept from the poem shows how black bodies are swimming in the breeze and the nest line compares that to a fruit hanging on a tree. Another prominent poetic devices used in the poem is imagery- the power of creating words with pictures. An example of this device, “The bulging’ eyes and the twisted mouth”(Meeropol 6). This example shows the horrible convulsed countenance of the lynched bodies in unforgiving pictures. Lastly, juxtaposition is a poetic element used. Juxtaposition is device in which two or more opposite things compared to bring a the difference between the two. Is ease in which the author places on change of two different elements is mind boggling. An example of this is, “Scent of magnolias sweet and fresh/ Then the sudden smell of burning’ flesh”(Meeropol