Spirituals
Spirituals were made by a communal group interaction within a church, not written by one author. Most spirituals are based from the Old Testament. The heroes in biblical stories gave the slaves hope that god would save them. Slave's spirituals expressed the slave's daily life such as their sorrows, inspirations, coded messages to each other and their hopes of being free some day. The beginning spirituals were influenced by African culture, but by the time the latter spirituals came spirituals were greatly influence by the European culture. Spirituals were made to help the world respect and love all of Gods creatures, to enforce the belief that all people were connected by way of sprits, and to encourage brotherhood. "Spirituals are folk poetry, the cultural and historical record of African American people in their struggle for survival, freedom, and equality" (Hill, 14).
In the spiritual "Steal Away" (Hill 236), it mentions "Stealing away to Jesus...
Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Ch...
English: Icon of Jesus Christ
English: Jesus Christ - detail from Deesis mosaic,...I ain't got long to stay here" (Hill 236). The imagery that is inferred from this song is a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm is also imaginable through the personification of God speaking through the thunder. The spiritual also symbolizes the act of getting your life together. Another cited spiritual is "Oh Mary, don't you weep" (Hill 236). The imagery in this spiritual is of a woman crying out in sorrow because of her enslavement. The personification is of the world being able to shake and dance. Thus, symbolizing that there's no longer anything to worry about, and there's going to be a brighter day. The spiritual "Wade in the Water" (Hill 238), displays an image of children standing in water. Leading into the personification of God changing the children from one way to another through the water. Symbolizing, people going to the water and getting their...