"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down, Moses," "Keep Your Hand on the Plow"

The three spirituals "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down, Moses," and "Keep Your Hands on the Plow" are all poems or songs that enslaved African Americans would sing or chant the words during spiritual that the slaves would hold. These poems or songs, or whatever you would like to call them are also an excellent example of realism. The anonymous slaves who wrote these poems were trying to express their sorrow of their enslavement by describing it as what happened with Moses and his people. They feel they are in the same type of situation and some one is going to come and rescue them. We see this comparison in "Go Down, Moses." They are calling for Moses to come and rescue them from their enslavement.

In "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," we read of this slave who is calling for a chariot to take them home. They will look over and see "a band of angels coming after me" (Anonymous. "Swing" 344). These angels will take her home where her friends could be. This was a very uplifting piece of art for the slaves I believe as they were calling for help.

In "Keep Your Hands on the Plow," we read of a man who is telling Biblical tales and how he is supposed to keep his hands on the plow no matter what. He feels imprisoned and this I believe would have been more of an emotional poem for the slaves. These three spirituals would also fall under the literary subset of realism, regionalism. These stories are from the southern states of the Confederacy where slavery was allowed. Therefore it only applies to the states like Texas, Virginia, Georgia, and other states like that in the south who allowed slavery.

These poems reflect the time period because this was the one time in American History where African Americans were enslaved to white people. These writings would not have happened if it were not for this time period and since they were enslaved, they wrote these spirituals for inspiration. It is how they could manage slavery. These poems have a lot of things relating to the Bible, which I would classify as religious. "Go Down, Moses" is all about Moses and the Biblical story of how he took his people out of slavery and out of Egypt to God's land. So that poem is mostly about religion. " Keep Your Hands on the Plow" also deals with Biblical stories. It talks of when Paul and Silas were arrested and then escaped Prison and when Peter would not let Jesus clean his feet or hands. It also says, "Got my hand on the gospel plow, wouldn't take nothin' for my journey now...." (Anonymous. "Keep" 346). Referring to they need nothing but the word of God.

I think that these poems refer to the American Dream a little bit, as they just want to be freed form their enslavement and not be ruled by the white people any longer. There is also no mention of a literal hero other than someone who would play the role of Moses freeing the slaves. So this could be somebody like Harriet Tubman or Abraham Lincoln. People like these who have helped the slaves to their rightful freedom.




Anonymous. "Go Down, Moses." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 345. Print.


Anonymous. "Keep You Hands on the Plow." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 346. Print.


Anonymous. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 344. Print.



Kasraie, Mary Rose. "local color." In Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 11, 2011.


Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 11, 2011.