Analysis of Regardin' Terry Hut

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



Sence I tuk holt o' Gibbses' Churn
And be'n a-handlin' the concern,
I've travelled round the grand old State
Of Indiany, lots, o' late--!
I've canvassed Crawferdsville and sweat
Around the town o' Layfayette;
I've saw a many a County-seat
I ust to think was hard to beat:
At constant dreenage and expense
I've worked Greencastle and Vincennes--
Drapped out o' Putnam into Clay,
Owen, and on down thataway
Plum into Knox, on the back-track
Fer home ag'in-- and glad I'm back--!
I've saw these towns, as I say-- but
They's none 'at beats old Terry Hut!

It's more'n likely you'll insist
I claim this 'cause I'm prejudist,
Bein' born'd here in ole Vygo
In sight o' Terry Hut--; but no,
Yer clean dead wrong--! And I maintain
They's nary drap in ary vein
O' mine but what's as free as air
To jest take issue with you there--!
'Cause, boy and man, fer forty year,
I've argied ag'inst livin' here,
And jawed around and traded lies
About our lack o' enterprise,
And tuk and turned in and agreed
All other towns was in the lead,
When-- drat my melts--! They couldn't cut
No shine a-tall with Terry Hut!

Take even, statesmanship, and wit,
And ginerel git-up-and-git,
Old Terry Hut is sound clean through--!
Turn old Dick Thompson loose, er Dan
Vorehees-- and where's they any man
Kin even hold a candle to
Their eloquence--? And where's as clean
A fi-nan-seer as Rile' McKeen--
Er puorer, in his daily walk,
In railroad er in racin' stock!
And there's 'Gene Debs-- a man 'at stands
And jest holds out in his two hands
As warm a heart as ever beat
Betwixt here and the Jedgement Seat--!
All these is reasons why I putt
Sich bulk o' faith in Terry Hut.

So I've come back, with eyes 'at sees
My faults, at last--, to make my peace
With this old place, and truthful' swear--
Like Gineral Tom Nelson does--,
'They hain't no city anywhere
On God's green earth lays over us!'
Our city government is grand--
'Ner is they better farmin'-land
Sun-kissed--' as Tom goes on and says--
'Er dower'd with sich advantages!'
And I've come back, with welcome tread,
From journeyin's vain, as I have said,
To settle down in ca'm content,
And cuss the towns where I have went,
And brag on ourn, and boast and strut
Around the streets o' Terry Hut!


Scheme AABBXBCCXDXXEEFF XBEXGGHHXXIIXJFF XBKLLKMMXXNNCCFF XXHXHDOOXXJJPPFF
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111 011010001 11010111 11111 110101 010111 110100101 11111111 1101001 1110010 11110011 100111 10111011 11100111 11111111 11111101 11110101 111111 111011 01110111 11110101 11010101 11111111 11110111 11011101 11111 01010101 01101110 01010001 11011001 11111101 11011101 1101001 011101 11011111 11110101 1011101 11010101 11000111 01111101 0101101 010011 01110111 01110111 11011101 0110011 11110111 11110101 11111111 11111111 11110101 111101 11111010 11111101 101010011 1111011 11111101 01110100 01111101 1111111 110101110 01011111 01110101 01011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,162
Words 407
Sentences 16
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 16, 16, 16, 16
Lines Amount 64
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 413
Words per stanza (avg) 101
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

2:10 min read
132

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

1 fan

Discuss this James Whitcomb Riley poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Regardin' Terry Hut" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21013/regardin%27-terry-hut>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    4
    days
    7
    hours
    52
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea."
    A Edmund Spenser
    B Edgar Allan Poe
    C Shel Silverstein
    D W.B. Yeats