Poems contain various kinds of tones, themes, or even purposes. These are mostly affected by the poets" influence in life. Poems are different to each other, but sometimes similar based on the poets" imagination and influence. The purpose of "The Whipping", which is to show that sometimes people have to go through hard times, and the purpose of "Ballad of Birmingham", which is to show that anything could happen even at the safest place, are different and supported by poems" techniques, such as the titles, settings, and metaphors.
First, the titles of "The Whipping" and "Ballad of Birmingham" are different and contribute to differentiate the purposes of the poem. "The Whipping" sounds harsh and relates to people's fears. Everyone had whipping from the parents at young age. Everyone often feared whipping as well. This title refers to the experience of the narrator, "[ ] the fear worse than blows that hateful words could bring, the face that I no longer knew or loved- (Hayden). This title contributes to the purpose by referring to the punishment that young people mostly fear and is part of the hard times people has to go through. In comparison, "The Whipping" title is different than "Ballad of Birmingham" title. "Ballad of Birmingham" sounds lively and happy. This title contributes to the purpose of the poem by showing the ignorance of the event that happened in Birmingham. In the poem, a woman ignores all the destruction that will happen anytime at anywhere and the woman thinks she's safe just because she's at the church. There was a bombing at Birmingham and the title is referring this poem as the song of Birmingham. Most people will unlikely to sing at this time of period and this title shows the opposite of the destruction that happened at Birmingham. The title "The Whipping" relates to everyone's fear, but the title "Ballad of Birmingham" shows the ignorance of the event that happened in Birmingham and these titles contribute to differentiate the purposes of these two poems.