Analysis of Reluctance

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



Will I have some mo' dat pie?
No, ma'am, thank-ee, dat is--I--
Bettah quit daihin' me.
Dat ah pie look sutny good:
How 'd you feel now ef I would?
I don' reckon dat I should;
Bettah quit daihin' me.

Look hyeah, I gwine tell de truf,
Mine is sholy one sweet toof:
Bettah quit daihin' me.
Yass'm, yass'm, dat's all right,
I 's done tried to be perlite:
But dat pie 's a lakly sight,
Wha 's de use o' daihin' me?

My, yo' lips is full an' red,
Don't I wish you 'd tu'n yo' haid?
Bettah quit daihin' me.
Dat ain't faih, now, honey chile,
I 's gwine lose my sense erwhile
Ef you des set daih an' smile,
Bettah quit daihin' me.

Nuffin' don' look ha'f so fine
Ez dem teef, deah, w'en dey shine:
Bettah quit daihin' me.
Now look hyeah, I tells you dis;
I 'll give up all othah bliss
Des to have one little kiss,
Bettah quit daihin' me.

Laws, I teks yo' little han',
Ain't it tendah? bless de lan'--
Bettah quit daihin' me.
I 's so lonesome by myse'f,
'D ain't no fun in livin' lef';
Dis hyeah life's ez dull ez def:
Bettah quit daihin' me.

Why n't you tek yo' han' erway?
Yass, I 'll hol' it: but I say
Bettah quit daihin' me.
Holin' han's is sholy fine.
Seems lak dat 's de weddin' sign.
Wish you 'd say dat you 'd be mine;--
Dah you been daihin' me.


Scheme aaBcccB ddBeeeb xxBbffB ggBhhhB xxBdddB iiBgggb
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111 1111111 1111 111111 11111111 1110111 1111 1111111 111111 1111 1111111 11111110 1111011 1111111 1111111 111111111 1111 11111010 1111111 1111111 1111 1111111 1111100111 1111 1111111 1111111 1111101 1111 1111101 111111 1111 1111011 1111011 1111111 1111 11111111 11111111 1111 11111 1111111 111111111 11111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,209
Words 255
Sentences 20
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 42
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 145
Words per stanza (avg) 42
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:21 min read
35

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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