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short summary of the poem "The ballad of the land lord"

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HOMEWORK HELP > BALLAD OF THE LANDLORD

Please give me a summary of "The Ballad of the Landlord."

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THANATASSA | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

The poem "The Ballad of the Landlord" consists of five traditional ballad stanzas followed by dramatic outcries and newspaper headlines. The first five stanzas are quatrains rhymed ABCB. 

The poem conveys a narrative. The speaker is a black tenant who is addressing a slumlord who has let the property run down to the point where it is dangerous. The landlord is demanding rent money and the tenant argues that he shouldn't be obliged to pay the landlord until repairs are made. The landlord threatens to evict the tenant for non-payment of rent and the tenant loses his temper and threatens to hit the landlord. 

Although the tenant never actually does hit the landlord, spectators summon the police and the tenant is jailed for 90 days while the landlord is not punished. 

The main point of the poem is to highlight racial injustice and the way it is exacerbated by economic inequality. 

FURTHER READING:

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai3/protest/tex...

https://www.enotes.com/topics/ballad-landlord