Analysis of Old Folks at Home
Stephen C. Foster 1826 (Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania) – 1864 (New York City, New York)
1 Way down upon de Swanee ribber,
2 Far, far away,
3 Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,
4 Dere's wha de old folks stay.
5 All up and down de whole creation,
6 Sadly I roam,
7 Still longing for de old plantation,
8 And for de old folks at home.
9 [Chorus] All de world am sad and dreary,
10 Ebry where I roam,
11 Oh! darkeys how my heart grows weary,
12 Far from de old folks at home.
13 [Solo] All round de little farm I wandered
14 When I was young,
15 Den many happy days I squandered,
16 Many de songs I sung.
17 When I was playing wid my brudder
18 Happy was I --.
19 Oh! take me to my kind old mudder,
20 Dere let me live and die.
21 [Chorus] All de world am sad and dreary,
22 Ebry where I roam,
23 Oh! darkeys how my heart grows weary,
24 Far from de old folks at home.
25 One little hut among de bushes,
26 One dat I love,
27 Still sadly to my mem'ry rushes,
28 No matter where I rove
29 When will I see de bees a humming
30 All round de comb?
31 When will I hear de banjo tumming
32 Down in my good old home?
33 [Chorus] All de world am sad and dreary,
34 Ebry where I roam,
35 Oh! darkeys how my heart grows weary,
36 Far from de old folks at home
Scheme | ABABCDCD ADAD EFEFAGAG ADAD HXHXXDFD ADAD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011111 1101 11111101 111111 110111010 1011 11011110 0111111 111111010 1111 11111110 1111111 1111101110 1111 110101110 101111 11110111 1011 11111111 111101 111111010 1111 11111110 1111111 110101110 1111 11011110 110111 111111010 1111 1111111 101111 111111010 1111 11111110 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,227 |
Words | 255 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 145 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 58 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 63 Views
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"Old Folks at Home" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35649/old-folks-at-home>.
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