1a. What is coming to carry the speaker home?
2a. Over what river does the singer look? What does the singer see?
3a. Who, according to stanza 3, is being addressed by the singer?
4a. Why might this song have been comforting to the person singing it? What feelings does the song express?
5a. How relevant is the message of this song today? Explain your answer.
1b. In a religious sense, where is "home"?
2b. If this song is interpreted as being about escape from slavery, what is the symbolic implication of "a band of angels" on the other side of the river?
3b. Why are the singer's friends not with the singer at this time?
4b. Develop an interpretation of the spiritual as a song of hope about earthly freedom, explaining the significance of the chariot, angels, home and the Jordan River.
5b. Here is the beginning of another famous spiritual, "Go Down, Moses":
When Israel was in Egypt land Let my people go Oppressed so hard they could not stand Let my people go Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land Tell old Pharoah, Let my people go
Compare and contrast this part of "Go Down Moses" with "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."
Theme. Review the definition for theme in the Handbook of Literary Terms. What is the theme of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"?
Refrain. Review the definition for refrain in Literary Tools on page 330. What is the refrain in "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"? To what does the word "home" in this refrain refer?
1. Imagine that you are witnessing a historian interview a slave in nineteenth-century America about her feelings about "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Write a dialogue between the historian and the slave. Among other questions, the historian asks the slave why she finds comfort in the spiritual and what feelings the song expresses for her.
2. Imagine that you are an overseer on a plantation with some thoughts about the real meaning of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" that the slaves are singing as they work. Write a letter to the plantation owner, expressing your concerns about what you see as the symbolic meaning of the spiritual's lyrics.
3. Write an additional stanza for "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."
Researching Spirituals. With several classmates, write a brief report on the background of spirituals. Possible topics to include are how spirituals developed, their influence on jazz or gospel music, why so many versions of any single song exist, and when spirituals became recognized. At the end of your report, add an appendix with your group's favorite spirituals. Illustrate and lay out the spirituals artistically. Be sure to include the musical notations for the songs. As you write about relevant topics, you may want to refer to the spirituals in the appendix when you need examples.
Research Log:
Researching Spirituals:
Sources Used:
Giving an Oral Interpretation.When listening to the presentations of your group members, take notes as described in the Language Arts Survey 5.17, "Taking Notes, Outlining, and Summarizing Information."
