Analysis of The Plantation Child's Lullaby
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
WINTAH time hit comin'
Stealin' thoo de night;
Wake up in the mo'nin'
Evah ting is white;
Cabin lookin' lonesome
Stannin' in de snow,
Meks you kin' o' nervous,
W'en de win' hit blow.
Trompin' back from feedin',
Col' an' wet an' blue,
Homespun jacket ragged,
Win' a-blowin' thoo.
Cabin lookin' cheerful,
Unnerneaf de do',
Yet you kin' o' keerful
W'en de win' hit blow.
Hickory log a-blazin'
Light a-lookin' red,
Faith o' eyes o' peepin'
R'om a trun'le bed,
Little feet a-patterin'
Clear across de flo';
Bettah had be keerful
W'en de win' hit blow.
Suppah done an' ovah,
Evah t'ing is still;
Listen to de snowman
Slippin' down de hill.
Ashes on de fiah,
Keep it wa'm but low.
What's de use o' keerin'
Ef de win' do blow?
Smoke house full o' bacon,
Brown an' sweet an' good;
Taters in de cellah,
'Possum roam de wood;
Little baby snoozin'
Des ez ef he know.
What's de use o' keerin'
Ef de win' do blow?
Scheme | ababcadEafghifeEajajaeeEklalkeAEamemaaAE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (28%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111 1111 11001 1111 10110 1011 111110 10011111 1111 11111 11010 1011 10110 111 11111 10011111 100101 1011 11111 1011 10101 10111 1111 10011111 1111 11111 10111 1111 10111 111111 11111 11111 111110 11111 1011 10111 10101 11111 11111 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 868 |
Words | 169 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 40 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 650 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 167 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 13, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 147 Views
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"The Plantation Child's Lullaby" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28935/the-plantation-child%27s-lullaby>.
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