Analysis of Growin' Gray
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
HELLO, ole man, you're a-gittin' gray,
An' it beats ole Ned to see the way
'At the crow's feet's a-getherin' aroun' yore eyes;
Tho' it oughtn't to cause me no su'prise,
Fur there's many a sun 'at you've seen rise
An' many a one you've seen go down
Sence yore step was light an' yore hair was brown,
An' storms an' snows have had their way—
Hello, ole man, you're a-gittin' gray.
Hello, ole man, you're a-gittin' gray,
An' the youthful pranks 'at you used to play
Are dreams of a far past long ago
That lie in a heart where the fires burn low—
That has lost the flame though it kept the glow,
An' spite of drivin' snow an' storm,
Beats bravely on forever warm.
December holds the place of May—
Hello, ole man, you're a-gittin' gray.
Hello, ole man, you're a-gittin' gray —
Who cares what the carpin' youngsters say?
For, after all, when the tale is told,
Love proves if a man is young or old!
Old age can't make the heart grow cold
When it does the will of an honest mind;
When it beats with love fur all mankind;
Then the night but leads to a fairer day—
Hello, ole man, you're a-gittin' gray!
Scheme | AabbbccaAAadddeeaAAafffggaA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01111011 111111101 101101111 111011111 1110011111 110011111 1111111111 11111111 01111011 01111011 1010111111 111011101 11001101011 1110111101 1111111 11010101 01010111 01111011 01111011 11101101 110110111 111011111 11110111 1110111101 111111111 1011110101 01111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,085 |
Words | 212 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 27 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 806 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 210 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 57 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Growin' Gray" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28734/growin%27-gray>.
Discuss this Paul Laurence Dunbar poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In