Go Down Death—A Funeral Sermon

E942058

"Go Down Death—A Funeral Sermon" is a poetic sermon by James Weldon Johnson that reimagines a Black preacher’s funeral oration in rich, biblical cadences as part of his collection God’s Trombones.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf poem
religious poem
sermon poem
author James Weldon Johnson
collectionAuthor James Weldon Johnson
collectionPublicationYear 1927
countryOfOrigin United States
depicts funeral oration
genre African-American literature
Christian poetry
religious literature
hasTitleVariant Go Down, Death—A Funeral Sermon
includedIn God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse
linked to: God’s Trombones
influencedBy African-American oral tradition
Black preaching style
King James Bible diction
intendedEffect comfort mourners
elevate folk sermon to high art
language English
literaryForm sermon
verse
literaryMovement Harlem Renaissance
medium print
narrativePerspective Black preacher
partOf God’s Trombones
portrays Death as servant of God
God as compassionate
publisherOfCollection Viking Press
linked to: The Viking Press
religiousContext Black church tradition
linked to: Black Christianity

Christianity
setting Black church environment
funeral service
style biblical cadences
oratorical
rhythmic prose-poetry
subjectMatter death of a believer
transition from earthly life to heaven
targetAudience African-American church communities
general readership
theme Black religious experience
afterlife
consolation
death
faith
funeral

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

God’s Trombones hasPart Go Down Death—A Funeral Sermon
The Prodigal Son sharesCollectionWith Go Down Death
linked to: Go Down Death—A Funeral Sermon
Go Down Death—A Funeral Sermon hasTitleVariant Go Down, Death—A Funeral Sermon
linked to: Go Down Death—A Funeral Sermon