The Slave Auction

The poem “The Slave Auction” refers to the brutal actions perpetrated (executed ,did) on the victims
in the 18th century. The cruel and inhuman process of slave trade is presented from the perspective
of the victims. The poet focuses particularly on the slave group. The poem is composed in twenty-four
lines in the iambic scheme and alternate rhyme scheme. Most of the poems by Harper discuss racism,
classism, sexism and equality. The entire poem portrays the brutal actions of the white tradesmen on
the slaves. In the 18th century, the victims were sold as slaves for commercial purpose. The feelings
of the slave women child and their mothers, and relatives are portrayed poignantly(sadness, regret)
and it is worth noting that they are black people. The readers can analyze the feelings and emotions
of the mother in the following lines.

The sale began—young girls were there,

Defenseless in their wretchedness, (Weak, Frail ,Unprotected- Unhappiness)
Whose stifled sobs of deep despair (Quite, Silent- Cries, moans- hopelessness)
Revealed their anguish and distress. (Suffering, pain, agony – sorrow)
Frances Harper’s ‘The Slave Auction’ begins directly. The introduction of the
poem takes readers to a scene where slaves are auctioned. They can see
some young girls are standing there, waiting to be sold. What is going on in
their minds? According to the poet, they are “defenseless” in their
“wretchedness”. These two quoted words describe their state. They don’t
have any defense neither they are in a condition to protest. The slavers have
already made them wretched.

Their “stifled sobs” remembers the speaker of some despair. It means the
girls could not even cry forcefully. There is hidden pain inside their heart that
is stifling their breath, thus they are suffocating inside. Harper hints at this
pain by “deep despair”. Such a state of those girls revealed their anguish and
distress. This scene was common among slaves held captive at a young age
and denied freedom.
 And mothers stood, with streaming eyes, (flowing)
And saw their dearest children sold;
Unheeded rose their bitter cries, (Unnoticed, Ignored-Representation, emblem)
While tyrants bartered them for gold. (Autocrats, Dictators- Exchanged, traded)

In the second stanza, Harper depicts what is the mental condition of the
mothers. So, there are not only young girls but also some mothers standing.
They are crying helplessly. It seems as if their tears will not ever stop. That’s
why Harper uses the metaphor of “streaming eyes”. Here, the tears are
compared to a stream that flows ceaselessly.
But why are they crying? The second line gives the answer. Their dearest
children are being sold. If a mother cannot bear the pain of her child’s little
pains, how can she control herself if someone is taking her child away for
selling? The slavers noticed their pain but avoided it. They are busy selling
those innocent kids for gold. Harper metaphorically compares them with
“tyrants”.

And woman, with her love and truth—

For these in sable forms may dwell—(marten(mammal)- reside, live)
Gazed on the husband of her youth, (stared, looked)
With anguish none may paint or tell. (suffering, agony )
There were women in the slave auction. They were waiting with heavy hearts
for their “love” of life. Harper uses the terms “love” and “truth” together for
a specific reason. She tries to say that a black woman came to the auction to
remain true to her partner, even if she was going to lose her within a moment.

In the second line, Harper uses the term “sable forms” to refer to their
husbands. “Sable” means “black”. When they looked at their husbands, they
tried to remember how strong they were in their youth. But, on that day,
those black men could not fight back, so they submitted to the oppressor’s
blow. Seeing their condition, their wives were in extreme anguish that no
painter or poet could portray.
 And men, whose sole crime was their hue, (only- colour)
The impress of their Maker’s hand, (influence, effect)
And frail and shrinking children too, (week- decrease)
Were gathered in that mournful band.
The fourth stanza talks about the men in the slave auction. Harper indirectly
asks, “What was their sole crime?” She tells readers that their only crime was
they were black. So, their freedom was dependent on the colour of their skin.
It seems quite absurd. But, it was the reality of slavery.

In the second line, Harper ironically says that their black hue is an impression
of God’s hands. He is the one who made them in that way. So they were not
responsible for what was happening to them. Not only men, but children
were also extremely frail due to the unhealthy condition they were living in.
They were shrinking day by day. In the last line, Harper refers to the gathering
as a “mournful band” as if it was some funeral. Why can’t it be a funeral? If
someone is losing their loved one forever, it creates a funeral in their mind.

Ye who have laid your loved to rest, (plural form of thou(you)-placed-released)

And wept above their lifeless clay, (exuded showed-unconscious, dead- mud, soil)
Know not the anguish of that breast, (torment, pain)
Whose loved are rudely torn away. (Impolite- pull apart),

In the fifth stanza, Harper’s speaker tells her readers a shocking thing.
According to her, those who have lost their loved ones and wept above their
lifeless bodies, cannot even understand a black mother’s pain. A wife whose
darling husband is taken away for her is suffering more than them. Not only
them, but a young black girl also undergoes excruciating pain when the
ground of freedom slides Within a flash of a second.

That’s why Harper says they cannot understand “the anguish of that breast.”
In the quoted phrase, she uses synecdoche. Here, she refers to black women.
The slavers rudely tore their loved ones away. It seems as if a person was
tearing an unripe fruit from the branches of a tree. Only a mother whose
weening child is taken away from her can understand this pain.

Ye may not know how desolate (isolated, abandoned)

Are bosoms rudely forced to part, (heart, breast)
And how a dull and heavy weight (gloomy)
Will press the life-drops from the heart.

The last stanza of ‘The Slave Auction’ reiterates the idea of the penultimate
one. In this section, Harper again refers to their bosom as a “desolate” place.
Without their loved ones, their mind is a barren(unfertile) ground that is not
going to be fertile again. The slavers are responsible for their distress. They
force rudely to part two souls. Those who have not ever felt that way, cannot
even know how slavery feels like.