Analysis of The Little Negro

Ann Taylor 1782 (Islington) – 1866



Ah! the poor little blackamoor, see there he goes,
And the blood gushes out from his half frozen toes,
And his legs are so thin you may see the very bones,
As he goes shiver, shiver, on the sharp cutting stones.

He was once a negro boy, and a merry boy was he,
Playing outlandish plays, by the tall palm tree;
Or bathing in the river, like a brisk water rat,
And at night sleeping sound, on a little bit of mat.

But there came some wicked people, and they stole him far away,
And then good bye to palm-tree tall, and merry merry play;
For they took him from his house and home, and ev'ry body dear,
And now, poor little negro boy, he's come a begging here.

And fie upon the wicked folks who did this cruel thing!
I wish some mighty nobleman would go and tell the king;
For to steal him from his house and home must be a crying sin,
Though he was a little negro boy, and had a sooty skin.


Scheme AABB CCDD EEXX FFGG
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 1011011111 001101111101 0111111110101 1111010101101 11101010010111 10010110111 1100010101101 0111011010111 111110100111101 01111111010101 11111110101101 01110101110101 01010101111101 11110100110101 111111101110101 111010101010101
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 881
Words 179
Sentences 7
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 42
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 170
Words per stanza (avg) 44
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 30, 2023

54 sec read
49

Ann Taylor

Ann Taylor is the former wife of Clifton Davis. more…

All Ann Taylor poems | Ann Taylor Books

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