Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass’s sudden death in 1895 came as a shocking loss to many of the communities fighting for equal rights for both the freed African American community and the suffragists. Dunbar, who personally knew Douglass, chose the elegiac form to remember the man who had inspired enormous change in 19th-century America, and who continued to fight for freed Black people long after the end of the Civil War. Written in iambic pentameter and standard American English, Dunbar’s choice of form signals a traditional 19th-century approach to the elegy—a notable choice when the poem itself was published among a collection of poems written in both dialect and standard English. As such, Dunbar’s elegy for Douglass demands the same reverence and seriousness afforded to white statesmen by using a revered literary formula to honor a former slave who rose to great importance.

In “Frederick Douglass,” Dunbar employs an extended metaphor of Douglass as a courageous, almost mythical warrior, cut down on the battlefield. His elegy is written for a fallen hero whose deeds will continue to inspire change long after his death. This metaphor begins in the first stanza of the poem: “A hush is over all the teeming lists” (Line 1). Here, “lists” (Line 1) can refer to both an arena for combat or a field of competition or controversy. Either definition suits Douglass, who was known to regularly enter into debates and who Dunbar here portrays as a fallen warrior in the arena. This quiet opening describes a reverent “pause, a breath-space in the strife” (Line 2), where Douglass has died and passed “beyond the mists” (Line 3) into the afterlife. His death is so sudden and shocking that the fighting comes to a pause, if only for a “breath-space” (Line 2) before the silence breaks and Ethiopia begins to lament the loss.

Here, Ethiopia symbolizes the formerly enslaved people brought to the United States; she is personified as a mother mourning the loss “of her noblest born” (Line 6) who she dearly loved and cherished. In turn, Douglass is described as her “champion” (Line 9) in stanza two, and Dunbar’s metaphor of the noble warrior begins to develop. Douglass is depicted as a loyal and steadfast champion, constantly fighting for the abolition of slavery and whispering words of “Hope and Trust” (Line 12) to those still living in bondage.

That voice in a whisper becomes “a fearless clarion” (Line 13) that “broke in warning on the ears of men” (Line 14) in stanza three, as Douglass’s career as an orator and abolitionist takes off and the poem itself begins to gain volume from the first quiet stanzas. As a fighter for the Black community, Douglass is armed with a “strong bow” (Line 15), sending his words—depicted as arrows—toward the enemy. Here, the enemy is “Oppression” (Line 17), personified as a beast living in a den and gloating over the suffering of the oppressed. While slaveholders argued slaves were not intelligent enough to govern themselves, Dunbar cleverly portrays that oppression as an uncivilized, cave-dwelling beast, which sharply contrasts with Douglass’s brilliance.

In stanza four, Douglass’s strengths as an orator are further elaborated. Like a demigod, the “sunlight of his truth” (Line 21) burns away any uncertainty— represented by “mist” (Line 21)—and he exposes to the public the darkness of oppression and slavery. His work likewise reveals “sin and crime” (Line 23) for what they are, making clear to 19th-century listeners who may have felt ambivalent about slavery how unjustifiable slavery really was. The warrior likewise “hurled at evil what was evil’s due” (Line 24), as Dunbar depicts a man who did not compromise in his attack on the evils of society. In stanza six, Dunbar addresses the backlash Douglass experienced for his efforts: While looking ever towards “the heights” (Line 26), Douglass faced “the foeman’s dread array” (Line 27). Here the foeman—or a foreman on a plantation—lashes him with scorn and whips him with “petty spites” (Line 28). In response, Douglass, no longer a slave, gives as good as he gets: “[H]e dared the lightning in the lightening’s track / and answered thunder with his thunder back” (Lines 29-30). The hero is prepared for the challenge and is uncowed by the attacks of those who no longer hold power over him.

These attacks continue in the sixth stanza, as the pace and energy of the poem continues to crescendo. Like waves in a storm at sea, the wrath of his opponents “o’er him broke” (Line 32), but Douglass is able to stay the course because “‘Twas for his race, not himself he spoke” (Line 34). In Lines 35-36, Dunbar further elaborates that Douglass felt God called him to this battle; as such, no insults could belittle his cause, for he “felt himself too mighty to be small” (Line 36).

Shifting focus from Douglass as the skilled warrior, Dunbar next portrays him as a generous man who overflowed with kindness. This version of Douglass is available in all ways to his people, where “his heart, his talents, and his hands were free / To all who truly needed aught of him” (Lines 39-40). The image of Douglass as a fierce champion is complemented by one of him as a giver. That dedication and loyalty to the cause of freedom and equality for all people is addressed in stanza eight, where Douglass is “still in the foremost rank” (Line 46) of the fight when he “died in action with his armor on!” (Line 48).

Stanza nine laments the loss of such an important figure in the fight for justice and equality and likewise expresses a sense of thankfulness for having “touched his hand / and felt the magic of his presence” (Line 49). The speaker assures the reader that the fight will continue despite the loss, that they will triumph, and that the warriors to come will someday achieve his goals and “place [their] banner where his hopes were set!” (Line 54)

If the poem opened quietly, the last stanzas have been punctuated with exclamation points and reach a fevered climax in stanza ten. Here, the speaker passionately and directly addresses Douglass, insisting that while he has gone, his voice still rings over the storm of battle. Dunbar emphasizes how Douglass’s success as an orator and statesman gave hope to his race (given the pronoun “her”), inspiring them to the highest achievements, bidding her “to seek the heights, nor faint, nor fail” (Line 58). The speaker insists this fight will be won because of Douglass’s “stirring cry” (Line 59) and because his “guardian spirit” (Line 60) continues to watch over the fight.

Dunbar’s final stanza is written as an octave, adding an additional two lines that return to the earlier imagery of Ethiopia held “bleeding in the dust” (Line 11). Instead, here the Black race triumphantly rises from beneath that oppression, symbolized as the “chast’ning rod” (Line 63), and like Douglass, reaches out “her bleeding hands” (Line 62) to God for deliverance. Dunbar’s elegy ends on this triumphant and optimistic note that brings to light Douglass’s most important contribution to his community: His words and his fight provided lasting faith and hope that the fight against oppression can ultimately be won.