Analysis of Christmas
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
STEP wid de banjo an' glide wid de fiddle,
Dis ain' no time fu' to pottah an' piddle;
Fu' Christmas is comin', it's right on de way,
An' dey's houahs to dance 'fo' de break o' de day.
What if de win' is taihin' an' whistlin'?
Look at dat fiah how hit's spittin' an' bristlin'!
Heat in de ashes an' heat in de cindahs,
Ol' mistah Fros' kin des look thoo de windahs.
Heat up de toddy an' pas' de wa'm glasses,
Don' stop to shivah at blowin's an' blas'es,
Keep on de kittle an' keep it a-hummin',
Eat all an' drink all, dey's lots mo' a-comin'.
Look hyeah, Maria, don't open dat oven,
Want all dese people a-pushin' an' shovin'?
Res' f'om de dance? Yes, you done cotch dat odah,
Mammy done cotch it, an' law! hit nigh flo'd huh;
'Possum is monst'ous fu' mekin' folks fin' it!
Come, draw yo' cheers up, I's sho' I do' min' it.
Eat up dem critters, you men folks an' wimmens,
'Possums ain' skace w'en dey's lots o' pu'simmons.
Scheme | AABBCCDDDDCCCCEFEEDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111111110 1111111110 1101111111 11111111111 11111111 111111111 1011011011 111111111 11111111110 111111111 1111011101 1111111101 11010110110 111100111 1111111111 1111111111 101111111 11111111111 1111011111 10111001111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 911 |
Words | 179 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 650 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 177 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 112 Views
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"Christmas" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28679/christmas>.
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