Student Question
What is the juxtaposition in the lines from Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit"?
"The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh."
Quick answer:
The juxtaposition in Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" contrasts the pleasant scent of magnolia flowers with the horrific smell of burning flesh. This stark contrast highlights the brutality of lynching against the backdrop of the serene Southern landscape. The imagery of magnolia scent juxtaposed with burning flesh underscores the song's theme, emphasizing the tragedy and horror of racial violence, as lynched bodies are likened to "strange fruit" hanging from trees.
A juxtaposition is a contrast between two dissimilar ideas, where using both ideas that are so different is used to understand the points of each.
The song “Strange Fruit” is very disturbing. It juxtaposes the images of fruit on a tree with lynched negroes. In the line you mention, the smell of magnolia flowers is juxtaposed with the smell of burning flesh. The people who have been hanged look like fruit on a tree, which is where the song title comes from. The smell of flowers does not fit with the smell of burning flesh, and comparing the two reinforces the tragedy of the hanging.
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