Analysis of At Candle-Lightin' Time
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
When I come in f'om de co'n-fiel' aftah wo'kin' ha'd all day,
It 's amazin' nice to fin' my suppah all erpon de way;
An' it 's nice to smell de coffee bubblin' ovah in de pot,
An' it 's fine to see de meat a-sizzlin' teasin'-lak an' hot.
But when suppah-time is ovah, an' de t'ings is cleahed away;
Den de happy hours dat foller are de sweetes' of de day.
When my co'ncob pipe is sta'ted, an' de smoke is drawin' prime,
My ole 'ooman says, 'I reckon, Ike, it 's candle-lightin' time.'
Den de chillun snuggle up to me, an' all commence to call,
'Oh, say, daddy, now it 's time to mek de shadders on de wall.'
So I puts my han's togethah--evah daddy knows de way,--
An' de chillun snuggle closer roun' ez I begin to say:--
'Fus' thing, hyeah come Mistah Rabbit; don' you see him wo'k his
eahs?
Huh, uh! dis mus' be a donkey,--look, how innercent he 'pears!
Dah 's de ole black swan a-swimmin'--ain't she got a' awful neck?
Who 's dis feller dat 's a-comin'? Why, dat 's ole dog Tray, I 'spec'!'
Dat 's de way I run on, tryin' fu' to please 'em all I can;
Den I hollahs, 'Now be keerful--dis hyeah las' 's de buga-man!'
An' dey runs an' hides dey faces; dey ain't skeered--dey 's lettin' on:
But de play ain't raaly ovah twell dat buga-man is gone.
So I jes' teks up my banjo, an' I plays a little chune,
An' you see dem haids come peepin' out to listen mighty soon.
Den my wife says, 'Sich a pappy fu' to give you sich a fright!
Jes, you go to baid, an' leave him: say yo' prayers an' say good-night.'
Scheme | AABB AACC DDAA E EXFF GGXX GXHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011111111111 111111111111 11111111011011 111111110101111 1111111111101 11101011111111 1111111111111 11111101111011 11110111110111 111011111111111 111111110111 11110101110111 11111101111111 1 1111101011111 111111011110101 11110110111111111 111111111111111 11111111111101 111111101111111 1111111110111 11111111110101 11111111110101 11111011111101 111111111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,484 |
Words | 306 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 1, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 42 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 150 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:34 min read
- 81 Views
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"At Candle-Lightin' Time" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28659/at-candle-lightin%27-time>.
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