While reading The Anti-Slavery Alphabet, I found myself both enjoying and dreading the next words. I enjoyed how this poem flowed smoothly, the words easily rhyming with one another, yet at the same time carrying a great amount of sadness and warning in them. In the beginning of the poem, the author comments on the age of the children, stating that “you are young, ’tis true, but there’s much that you can do”. From this quote, I could tell that the intention of the author was to encourage young children to help take up the stand against slavery.

By associating each letter of the alphabet with an important word, the author not only teaches young children the alphabet, but also of the importance that each word carries to slaves. For example, the author connects the letter ‘S’ to the word ‘Sugar’. Sugar is something that the slaves have had to toil hard to make, in order for people to put in their pies and tea. However, for something as simple as sugar, slaves have had to endure much hardships and pain, something that people who eat that sugar never think of. Despite the sadness that the poem carries behind each letter, there are also whispers of hope. For example, the letter ‘U’ is associated with ‘Upper Canada’, a place that slaves can find freedom and rest. The author includes this in order to show children that there is hope for slaves, in spite of the odds being against them.

I found this poem easy to read and more importantly it was a lesson I enjoyed learning. Many children would feel the same I would think. By teaching children about the harshness that is slavery, but also providing them with small glimpses of hope, the author is encouraging change and action. Targeting this work towards children is a great way to teach them about history and to show them that with action comes results. This poem effectively both informs children to the pain and suffering that slaves have gone through and teaches them how they can make a difference in this world.