Analysis of The Song Of Hiawatha XVI: Pau-Puk-Keewis
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis,
He, the handsome Yenadizze,
Whom the people called the Storm-Fool,
Vexed the village with disturbance;
You shall hear of all his mischief,
And his flight from Hiawatha,
And his wondrous transmigrations,
And the end of his adventures.
On the shores of Gitche Gumee,
On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water
Stood the lodge of Pau-Puk-Keewis.
It was he who in his frenzy
Whirled these drifting sands together,
On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo,
When, among the guests assembled,
He so merrily and madly
Danced at Hiawatha's wedding,
Danced the Beggar's Dance to please them.
Now, in search of new adventures,
From his lodge went Pau-Puk-Keewis,
Came with speed into the village,
Found the young men all assembled
In the lodge of old Iagoo,
Listening to his monstrous stories,
To his wonderful adventures.
He was telling them the story
Of Ojeeg, the Summer-Maker,
How he made a hole in heaven,
How he climbed up into heaven,
And let out the summer-weather,
The perpetual, pleasant Summer;
How the Otter first essayed it;
How the Beaver, Lynx, and Badger
Tried in turn the great achievement,
From the summit of the mountain
Smote their fists against the heavens,
Smote against the sky their foreheads,
Cracked the sky, but could not break it;
How the Wolverine, uprising,
Made him ready for the encounter,
Bent his knees down, like a squirrel,
Drew his arms back, like a cricket.
'Once he leaped,' said old Iagoo,
'Once he leaped, and lo! above him
Bent the sky, as ice in rivers
When the waters rise beneath it;
Twice he leaped, and lo! above him
Cracked the sky, as ice in rivers
When the freshet is at highest!
Thrice he leaped, and lo! above him
Broke the shattered sky asunder,
And he disappeared within it,
And Ojeeg, the Fisher Weasel,
With a bound went in behind him!'
'Hark you!' shouted Pau-Puk-Keewis
As he entered at the doorway;
'I am tired of all this talking,
Tired of old Iagoo's stories,
Tired of Hiawatha's wisdom.
Here is something to amuse you,
Better than this endless talking.'
Then from out his pouch of wolf-skin
Forth he drew, with solemn manner,
All the game of Bowl and Counters,
Pugasaing, with thirteen pieces.
White on one side were they painted,
And vermilion on the other;
Two Kenabeeks or great serpents,
Two Ininewug or wedge-men,
One great war-club, Pugamaugun,
And one slender fish, the Keego,
Four round pieces, Ozawabeeks,
And three Sheshebwug or ducklings.
All were made of bone and painted,
All except the Ozawabeeks;
These were brass, on one side burnished,
And were black upon the other.
In a wooden bowl he placed them,
Shook and jostled them together,
Threw them on the ground before him,
Thus exclaiming and explaining:
'Red side up are all the pieces,
And one great Kenabeek standing
On the bright side of a brass piece,
On a burnished Ozawabeek;
Thirteen tens and eight are counted.'
Then again he shook the pieces,
Shook and jostled them together,
Threw them on the ground before him,
Still exclaiming and explaining:
'White are both the great Kenabeeks,
White the Ininewug, the wedge-men,
Red are all the other pieces;
Five tens and an eight are counted.'
Thus he taught the game of hazard,
Thus displayed it and explained it,
Running through its various chances,
Various changes, various meanings:
Twenty curious eyes stared at him,
Full of eagerness stared at him.
'Many games,' said old Iagoo,
'Many games of skill and hazard
Have I seen in different nations,
Have I played in different countries.
He who plays with old Iagoo
Must have very nimble fingers;
Though you think yourself so skilful,
I can beat you, Pau-Puk-Keewis,
I can even give you lessons
In your game of Bowl and Counters!'
So they sat and played together,
All the old men and the young men,
Played for dresses, weapons, wampum,
Played till midnight, played till morning,
Played until the Yenadizze,
Till the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis,
Of their treasures had despoiled them,
Of the best of all their dresses,
Shirts of deer-skin, robes of ermine,
Belts of wampum, crests of feathers,
Warlike weapons, pipes and pouches.
Twenty eyes glared wildly at him,
Like the eyes of wolves glared at him.
Said the lucky Pau-Puk-Keewis:
'In my wigwam I am lonely,
In my wanderings and adventures
I have need of a companion,
Fain would have a Meshinauwa,
An attendant and pipe-bearer.
I will venture all
Scheme | aabacdaaeFgaagFhijeaafhjaaigkkgglgmkaaljgnojealeapeglneaqjaerjsgaatgaukjaatavgeGEjajajtaGEjauatwlaaeejwaajabaaaguejaaeakaaeeaiakqgx |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111 10101 10101011 10101010 11111110 0111010 01101 00111010 101111 101111 10101110 1011111 11110110 11101010 101111 10101010 11100010 11110 1011111 10111010 1111111 11101010 10111010 001111 100111010 11100010 11101010 1101010 11101010 11110110 01101010 001001010 1010111 10101010 10101010 10101010 11101010 1010111 10111111 1001010 111010010 11111010 11111010 111111 11101011 10111010 10101011 11101011 10111010 1011110 11101011 10101010 0101011 0101010 10110011 1110111 1110101 111011110 1011110 101110 11101011 10111010 11111111 11111010 10111010 111110 11110110 00101010 111110 11111 11111 0110101 11101 011110 10111010 10101 10111110 00101010 00101111 10101010 11101011 10100010 11111010 011110 10111011 10101 11101110 10111010 10101010 11101011 10100010 111011 101011 11101010 11011110 11101110 10110011 101110010 1001010010 101001111 11100111 101111 10111010 111010010 111010010 111111 11101010 1110111 1111111 11101110 01111010 11101010 10110011 11101010 1111110 10101 1010111 1110111 10111110 11111110 11101110 1101010 10111011 10111111 1010111 01101110 011000010 11110010 11101 10100110 11101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 4,220 |
Words | 750 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 131 |
Lines Amount | 131 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 3,413 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 742 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 10, 2023
- 3:44 min read
- 87 Views
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"The Song Of Hiawatha XVI: Pau-Puk-Keewis" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18934/the-song-of-hiawatha-xvi%3A-pau-puk-keewis>.
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