strange fruit, writing homework help

Directions: In this assignment, you are to write a one page essay (double spaced) using the fallowing questions:

1 – What do the words “strange fruit” in the poem refer to?

2 – What kind of images does the poem create? How does it make you feel?

3 – What is the general tone created by the poem? How does the poem contribute to the overall effect?

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.