Analysis of A Spiritual

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



De 'cession's stahted on de gospel way,
De Capting is a-drawin' nigh:
Bettah stop a-foolin' an' a-try to pray;
Lif' up yo' haid w'en de King go by!

Oh, sinnah mou'nin' in de dusty road,
Hyeah 's de minute fu' to dry yo' eye:
Dey 's a moughty One a-comin' fu' to baih yo' load;
Lif' up yo' haid w'en de King go by!

Oh, widder weepin' by yo' husban's grave,
Hit 's bettah fu' to sing den sigh:
Hyeah come de Mastah wid de powah to save;
Lif' up yo' haid w'en de King go by!

Oh, orphans a-weepin' lak de widder do,
An' I wish you 'd tell me why:
De Mastah is a mammy an' a pappy too;
Lif' up yo' haid w'en de King go by!

Oh, Moses sot de sarpint in de wildahness
W'en de chillun had commenced to die:
Some 'efused to look, but hit cuohed de res';
Lif' up yo' haid w'en de King go by!

Bow down, bow 'way down, Bow down,
But lif' up yo' haid w'en de King go by!


Scheme abaB cbcB dbdB ebeB fbfB xb
Poetic Form
Metre 11111101 111011 110110111 111110011111 11101101 1111011111 110110111111 111110011111 11011111 11111111 111111111 111110011111 1100111101 11111111 111011011 111110011111 110111011 10011110111 111111111 111110011111 1111111 1111110011111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 843
Words 182
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 100
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

57 sec read
140

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia more…

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    A poem consisting of 14 lines, typically with a specific rhyme scheme, is called a _______.
    A haiku
    B sonnet
    C limerick
    D epic