Analysis of Curiosity
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
MAMMY'S in de kitchen, an' de do' is shet;
All de pickaninnies climb an' tug an' sweat,
Gittin' to de winder, stickin' dah lak flies,
Evah one ermong us des all nose an' eyes.
'Whut's she cookin', Isaac?' 'Whut's she cookin', Jake?'
'Is it sweet pertaters? Is hit pie er cake?'
But we couldn't mek out even whah we stood
Whut was mammy cookin' dat could smell so good.
Mammy spread de winder, an' she frown an frown.
How de pickaninnies come a-tumblin' down!
Den she say: 'Ef you-all keeps a-peepin' in,
How I'se gwine to whup you, my! 't 'ill be a sin!
Need n' come a-sniffin' an' a-nosin' hyeah,
'Ca'se I knows my business, nevah feah.'
Won't somebody tell us — how I wish dey would! —
Whut is mammy cookin' dat it smells so good?
We know she means business, an' we dassent stay,
Dough it's mighty tryin' fuh to go erway;
But we goes a-troopin' down de ol' wood-track
'Twell dat steamin' kitchen brings us stealin' back,
Climbin' an' a-peepin' so's to see inside.
Whut on earf kin mammy be so sha'p to hide?
I'd des up an' tell folks w'en I knowed I could,
Ef I was a-cookin' t'ings dat smelt so good.
Mammy in de oven, an' I see huh smile;
Moufs mus' be a-wat'rin' roun' hyeah fuh a mile;
Den we almos' hollah ez we hu'ies down,
'Ca'se hit's apple dumplin's, big an' fat an' brown!
W'en de do' is opened, solemn lak an' slow,
Wisht you see us settin' all dah in a row
Innercent an' p'opah, des lak chillun should
W'en dey mammy's cookin' t'ings dat smell so good.
Scheme | AABBCCAADDEEFGAAAHIIAAAAJJDDKKAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011011111 11111111 111101111 111111111 111101111 111111101 11101110111 111111111 1111011111 11110101 1111111010 1111111111101 111011011 111111011 1101111111 111111111 1111101111 111011111 1110111111 111101111 110111101 11111111111 11111110011111 1110111111 1011011111 1110111101 111011111 11110111111 10011111010111 1111111001 1111111 100111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,450 |
Words | 284 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 32 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,056 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 278 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:30 min read
- 74 Views
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"Curiosity" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28690/curiosity>.
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