Henry C. Knight, Letters from the South and West, 77
Item
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Title
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Henry C. Knight, Letters from the South and West, 77
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Includes music itself or text of song
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no
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Identity of singers; solo/group
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enslaved
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group
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Voice/instrument
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voice
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voice
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Space/room
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plantation
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activity
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Attending a funeral or wedding
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Timbre
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---
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Ornamentation / improvisation
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---
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genre
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---
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Geographical location
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"a fine plantation on the banks of the Rappahannock." Virginia
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Notable adjectives
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"jovial"
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Excerpt
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When a slave dies, the master gives the rest a day, of their own choosing, to celebrate the funeral. This, perhaps a month after the corpse is interred, is a jovial day with them; they sing and dance and drink the dead to his new home, which some believe to be in old Guinea. Indeed, a wedding, and a funeral, are equally agreeable to those not personally interested in them, as then comes a holiday. It appears to be an instinct of these creatures to dance, to equivocate, and to pilfer; but, for the two latter propensities, ignorance and necessity plead loudly
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Context
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Knight is describing Virginia plantation life in a letter
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Bias of author
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Knight was an Episcopal clergyman from MA