Analysis of A Grievance
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Wen de snow 's a-fallin'
An' de win' is col'.
Mammy 'mence a-callin',
Den she 'mence to scol',
'Lucius Lishy Brackett,
Don't you go out do's,
Button up yo' jacket,
Les'n you 'll git froze.'
I sit at de windah
Lookin' at de groun',
Nuffin nigh to hindah,
Mammy ain' erroun';
Wish 't she would n' mek me
Set down in dis chaih;
Pshaw, it would n't tek me
Long to git some aih.
So I jump down nimble
Ez a boy kin be,
Dough I 's all a-trimble
Feahed some one 'll see;
Bet in a half a minute
I fly out de do'
An' I 's knee-deep in it,
Dat dah blessed snow.
Den I hyeah a pattah
Come acrost de flo'.
Den dey comes a clattah
At de cabin do';
An' my mammy holler
Spoilin' all my joy,
'Come in f'om dat waller,
Don't I see you, boy?'
Wen de snow 's a-sievin'
Down ez sof ez meal,
Whut 's de use o' livin'
'Cept you got de feel
Of de stuff dat's fallin'
'Roun' an' white an' damp,
'Dout some one a-callin',
'Come in hyeah, you scamp!'
Scheme | ABABCXDX CACAEXEX BEBEDFCX CBCFGHGH ABABAIAI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (28%) Etheree (28%) |
Metre | 1111010 11111 1101 11111 10110 11111 101110 111111 11111 1111 1111 111 1111111 11011 1111111 11111 111110 10111 1111010 11111 1001010 11111 1111101 1111 11101 1111 11101 11101 11110 1111 101110 11111 111101 11111 111111 11111 111110 11111 11101 10111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 892 |
Words | 196 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 129 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 116 Views
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"A Grievance" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28611/a-grievance>.
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